Bruins Won’t Forget ‘Cheap’ Cross-Check on Mark Kastelic

The taste of a sixth straight loss won’t disappear from the mouths of the Boston Bruins quickly, and neither will the sight of one of their key role players wobbling on his skates disappear from their minds.

In the waning seconds of a 4-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday, Mark Kastelic had to leave the game after taking a cross-check to the face and fighting Tampa Bay defenseman Emil Lilleberg.

BIG FIGHT IN THE FINAL SECONDS 🥊

Mark Kastelic goes after Emil Lilleberg and the two trade HEAVY shots pic.twitter.com/zKGwyObrjh

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) January 10, 2025

“It’s a pretty cheap cross-check,” Morgan Geekie said to reporters in Tampa. “I don’t blame him for what he did. I haven’t talked with him about anything. But, obviously, we’re not too happy about that.”

Both Kastelic and Lilleberg received a five-minute major penalty for fighting. Lilleberg was also assessed a minor penalty for cross-checking and a game misconduct, but that wasn’t enough of a punishment in the eyes of the Bruins.

Read More: Bruins Sink To New Low In Loss To Lightning

As the final horn sounded, several members of Bruins and Lightning got into a shoving match, further defending Kastelic, who has been first to come to the aid of teammates all year.

“What we won’t lose in this room is having each other’s backs,” Jeremy Swayman said. “Those last two seconds of the game aren’t going to go unnoticed.”

Kastelic is in his first year with the Bruins and has become an integral part of the team’s identity. So much so, in fact, that Boston inked the forward to a three-year contract extension last week.

Bruins interim coach Joe Sacco did not have an update on Kastelic’s status following the game.

The Bruins will next be in action on Saturday against the Florida Panthers, in a game where Kastelic’s grit will surely be needed.

“It was just unnecessary all-around,” said Swayman. “[Kastelic] is the toughest guy in the league for a reason, and he’s fighting the guy knocked out. It’s unbelievable to see that. I hope he’s going to feel better, and I want him back soon.”

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