It was a sight for sore eyes to see David Pastrnak back on the practice ice on Sunday afternoon for the Boston Bruins, but head coach Bruce Cassidy confirmed Monday that the star winger will not be available for Game 4 against the Carolina Hurricanes.
Anders Bjork will play with Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand.
"Pasta is not available," Cassidy said. "Anders [Bjork] spent the most time there in training camp. Obviously, in game we can make adjustments. But at the end of the day, the message to him is just play your game. You're not going to replace Pasta."
Cassidy had previously said Pastrnak was "50/50 at best" to play on Monday night after missing both Game 2 and Game 3 with what appeared to be some kind of upper body injury suffered in the final moments of the OT win in Game 1 against the Hurricanes. Certainly it's a positive development that Pastrnak was able to test things out on the ice, but it looks like the B's will have to do without him as they get ready to extend their 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.
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Pastrnak had a goal and two points in 24:58 of ice time along with three shots on net in the Game 1 victory.
Bjork has skated mostly in Pastrnak's spot with Bergeron and Marchand over the last couple of games, but took three minor penalties in the Saturday afternoon win over the Hurricanes while perhaps trying to do a little too much filling in for No. 88.
Here's a list of the Bruins players that took part in Sunday's optional practice at the Toronto practice ice inside the bubble: Bjork, Trent Frederic, Par Lindholm, Pastrnak, Nick Ritchie, Zach Senyshyn, Jack Studnicka, Connor Clifton, Jeremy Lauzon, Urho Vaakanainen, Jakub Zboril, Maxime Lagace and Dan Vladar.
Bruce Cassidy: Bruins' David Pastrnak '50/50 at best' to play in Game 4 originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
