Charlie McAvoy latest Bruin to miss practice; 6 others return

Let's start with the good news: Tuukka Rask, Torey Krug, David Krejci, Charlie Coyle, Sean Kuraly and Nick Ritchie all returned to Bruins practice Monday after missing Saturday's while being deemed "unfit to participate."

Now for the more concerning news: Charlie McAvoy, the team's No. 1 defenseman, joined the "unfit to participate" list, missing practice for the first time. Top scorer David Pastrnak and projected second-line right wing Ondrej Kase also remained absent, as did probable fourth-line right wing Chris Wagner. Forward Anton Blidh was also not spotted Monday.

Pastrnak and Kase have now missed all six full-team practices since the team's return to play camp began last Monday, while Wagner was among the group of seven whose first absence came Saturday.

Keeping with NHL protocol, all Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy could say after Monday's practice is that the four players who weren't on the ice were "unfit to participate."

Cassidy pointed out Saturday that there are a number of reasons a player could be deemed "unfit to participate," and that people shouldn't make any assumptions about positive tests. He reiterated that Monday, saying that they've had some instances of test results not coming back on time or coming back inconclusive.

The agents for Pastrnak and Coyle both released explanations for their clients' absences. Pastrnak's agent said he was quarantining after coming into contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19. Coyle's said he missed Saturday's practice due to an inconclusive test, but that he had since tested negative and was just fine.

There remains no confirmed reason for any of the other absences. More detailed information can only be released with the player's approval, per collectively bargained NHL protocols.

Monday's practice featured a full-squad scrimmage, which Cassidy said was originally scheduled for Saturday before being moved back because of the number of players who were missing Saturday.

#NHLBruins practice lines: Marchand – Bergeron – BjorkDeBrusk – Krejci – KuhlmanKuraly – Coyle – RitchieNordstrom – Lindholm – SenyshynFrederic – Studnicka – CareyChara – ZborilKrug – CarloGrzelcyk – LauzonMoore – CliftonVaakanainenRaskHalakVladarLagace pic.twitter.com/j8NN8RoIDa

Also on Monday, TSN's Ryan Rishaug reported what will be required for players to be able to travel to the hub cities in Toronto and Edmonton. Players will need three negative tests spaced 48 hours apart in the seven days prior to traveling to Canada, which is scheduled to take place this Sunday. Players who don't hit that mark could be left behind until they get cleared.

NHL players need 3 negative tests spaced 48 hours apart in the 7 days prior to travel to Canada. Any positive tests after Wed or Thurs this week and they won't hit that mark. We could be talking about players left behind until cleared. Crucial week for the leagues testing.

It's worth noting that without knowing if any Bruins have tested positive recently, we don't know if this will prevent any of them from traveling on Sunday. For someone like Pastrnak, presumably he could still be cleared to travel as long as his quarantine has ended by then and he continues to test negative.

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