Kevan Miller is back home and “doing better,” Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said Saturday morning. The veteran defenseman has been ruled out for Sunday night’s Game 5.
Miller was transported to the hospital for overnight evaluation and testing after taking a high hit from Capitals defenseman Dmitry Orlov during the second period of the Bruins’ Game 4 win Friday night.
Orlov reportedly will not face any supplemental discipline from the NHL for the hit. He was initially assessed a five-minute major, but the officials overturned that to a two-minute roughing minor after reviewing it.
Cassidy said one of the refs told him during the game that it was overturned because Orlov made contact with Miller’s shoulder first, not his head. Cassidy said he did not agree with that assessment.
“What happened there is their guy left his feet, borderline late, and drove right under his chin,” Cassidy said after the game.
Cassidy said either Jarred Tinordi or Urho Vaakanainen will play in Miller’s place Sunday, with one of them slotting in next to Connor Clifton, who will move back to his natural right side.
The Bruins were already down a couple depth defensemen, as Jeremy Lauzon was injured in Game 1 of this series and Jakub Zboril was injured in the final game of the regular season. Both remain unavailable. Cassidy called Tinordi and Vaakanainen the only two healthy options, so that could mean that Steven Kampfer is also dealing with some sort of injury.
********************
While Orlov apparently will not face any supplemental discipline, the NHL Department of Player Safety did issue some punishment to another Capital.
They announced Saturday morning that Washington forward Anthony Mantha has been fined $5,000 -- the maximum allowable under the CBA -- for hitting Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask during the third period of Game 4.
It was both a foolish and costly play from Mantha. The Capitals trailed 3-1 at the time and were trying to mount a comeback in the final seven minutes of the game, but for some reason Mantha decided to just run right over Rask, making no effort whatsoever to avoid him.
Matt Grzelcyk scored on the ensuing power play to put the game out of reach and ensure a 3-1 series lead for Boston.
Related
