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Bruins response to hit on Rask was embarrassing |
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24 hours after blowing a three-goal lead en route to an embarrassing 6-5 shootout loss in Philadelphia, the Bruins were embarrassed yet again. This time in Columbus, and this time, in a different manner as they were the night prior against the Flyers.
Just 1:12 into the contest, Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask was sent to his knees following a collision with Blue Jackets forward Emil Bemstrom as Bemstrom skated through the Bruins crease.
At first, the play looked like an innocent, accidental collision by a forward that was trying to separate himself from a defending Brandon Carlo.
But upon further review, multiple replay angles show a different story. One where it looked like Bemstrom knew where he was and what he was doing, raising his right arm and connecting with Rask’s head.
"He's concussed. He got elbowed in the head. He'll probably go into the protocol, at least that's what I was told. Maybe it's not as bad as they first thought. I guess we'll have a better evaluation [on Wednesday],” said head coach Bruce Cassidy.
“That's what I was originally told. Maybe when he gets home and he feels better, maybe they jumped the gun a little bit, but that’s my explanation.”
Bemstrom was not penalized on the play and the Blue Jackets would go on to beat the Bruins 3-0, their second loss in as many nights.
It wasn’t the loss itself that bothers me, it was the Bruins response to the hit to Rask’s head that left their number one goalie concussed.
I’m not saying the Bruins should have jumped Bemstrom on the spot, I believe them when they say they either did not see it happen at the time, or in real time as I mentioned, it looked like a freak accident.
I’m not saying the Bruins should have took a run at Blue Jackets goalie Elvis Merzlikins—who posted his second consecutive shutout. And I’m not even saying the Bruins should have targeted a Seth Jones or a Nick Foligno.
The perfect response would have been on the scoreboard, and at the end of the night, there was nothing but a big fat zero next to the Bruins name. The closure on an ugly 48-hour span for a Bruins team that continues to lack intensity when it is needed the most.
I know the Bruins sent several crosschecks and shoves Bemstrom’s way. And I know they asked Bemstrom to drop the gloves in which according to Carlo he responded with a “I’m not doing that.” I get it, he’s not that type of player. But the Bruins should have made the Blue Jackets pay where it would hurt them the most: on the scoreboard.
“Didn’t really recognize it right away, didn’t know. After he went down I was asking the ref what happened and he said it was an accident, all a stick to the face,” said Carlo.
“That’s what he saw, but I’m not sure the guys were really aware of that at the time. After the first period we obviously saw it. From my perspective, being that close to the play, and being the one who supposedly pushed him, I didn’t even really shove him at all, it wasn’t a strong play on my part by any means.”
Gone are the days of Shawn Thornton or Adam McQuaid patrolling the ice, ready to pounce on an opponent that does so much as look at a Bruins teammate the wrong way. The enforcer role has been phased out of the game for the more skilled, speedy and young forward.
And that’s okay.
I know Bruins fans love “old time hockey,” and believe me, I do too. And I never want to see fighting removed from the game, because I believe if it is removed, stuff like what happened to Rask will become the norm.
But the Bruins have enough toughness on their roster to police things. And they have more than enough talent on their roster to respond with goals and victories when hits like the one Rask took occur.
They tried to get Bemstrom to answer for his hit, it’s not their fault he, nor any other Blue Jacket was going to answer for it.
“You try to antagonize him as much as you can, until he makes his decision on whether he wants to fight or not,” said Carlo.
But come on, where was the sense of urgency and intensity. The Bruins had about 59 minutes to come to Rask’s aid, and they failed to do so.
“Brandon is kind of, bumping with him on his pants, but certainly it didn’t affect his elbow. Should have our guys had a better response? I think there could have been, but I don’t know if they saw it in real-time. It was pointed out after the first period, that our goaltender got bumped,” said Cassidy.
“But listen, it’s a little late then, you can’t take the law into your own hands. You can certainly address it with the player on the ice if you felt it was inappropriate and I think some of our guys did that, but you’ve got to get back to playing.”
Protecting his forward late in a game where the Blue Jackets knew the Bruins wouldn’t be mustering no late third period comeback, Blue Jackets head coach John Tortorella kept Bemstrom on the bench for the final 3:34 of regulation.
That was Tortorella’s way of protecting his forward.
“I think it’s good for him to go through that a little bit,” Tortorella said. “The league isn’t what it used to be. He stood in there. He didn’t bow his head. He looked at people.”
Rask’s concussion comes nearly a year to the day he suffered his last known concussion. That concussion came in a similar collision, this one with Rangers forward Filip Chytil on January 19, 2019.
There’s going to be more questionable hits laid upon Bruins players as the season continues to wind down. Maybe it’s Rask again. Maybe it’s the league’s leading goal scorer David Pastrnak. Or maybe it’s a Chris Wagner, Anders Bjork or Danton Heinen.
Regardless of who it is, and the result that follows, the Bruins will need a much better answer than the one they had Tuesday night.
Boston Bruins Blogger • 
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