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Rasmussen Suspended; Krejci Day-To-Day

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Detroit Red Wings forward Michael Rasmussen has been suspended two games by the NHL Department of Player Safety for his high-stick on Boston Bruins center David Krejci during the second period of the Bruins’ 5-1 win over the Red Wings Thursday night at TD Garden.

Michael Rasmussen caught David Krejci with a vicious high-stick along the boards near the Red Wings’ bench 8:30 into the second period. Ironically, despite Rasmussen’s high-stick catching Krejci on the side of his head, the Boston Bruins center left the ice hunching over and holding his right wrist.

The Boston Bruins officially ruled David Krejci out for their 7 PM ET game Friday night against the Blue Jackets in Columbus.

“He won’t be traveling with us (to Columbus), not available [Friday],” Montgomery said in his post-game presser Thursday. “That we know. He’s going to get looked at tomorrow.”

In his pre-game media availability 80 minutes before puck drop in Columbus, Montgomery had no real update except to say that Krejci was day-to-day and they would have more information on Saturday. Montgomery, as he did Thursday, confirmed that Boston Bruins forward Pavel Zacha would take Krejci’s spot in the 2C slot between Taylor Hall and David Pastrnak.

“Well anytime you’re missing a player that can control games and win games, it’s a different challenge for our group,” the first-year Bruins head coach told reporters at Nationwide Arena in Columbus. “We’re gonna have Pavel Zacha in the two-hole and it’s a great opportunity for him to show why we were so excited when we picked him up as a possible center in the future.”

After completing a trade during the second period of the win over the Red Wings Thursday night that sent 23-year-old center Jack Studnicka to the Vancouver Canucks, Boston Bruins general manager Don Sweeney told the media that yes the timing of the David Krejci injury couldn’t have been worse but it can give the Bruins a chance to really see if Zacha could eventually fit into the center picture for the Bruins going forward.

“Well, everything is timing right?” Sweeney asked rhetorically Thursday night. “Krech gets hurt in the second period of the game, so you maybe start to second-guess making a move earlier in the day and then finalizing it during the game, but we made the commitment from a roster standpoint what direction we were going to go, and really it was an opportunity for Jack also. To have a reset and go to a team that was looking for a younger center that could probably grow with their group, and they have significant injuries and I think he goes in and gets a significant opportunity right away that he probably would’ve gotten here until. …I mean again, maybe ‘Krech’ but we were inclined to move Pavel into the middle of the ice, which you saw tonight is something, forward thinking for us, is really important for us now, and moving forward.”

 

 

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