Pavel Zacha’s Olympic dream ended earlier than it started.
The Bruins’ heart needed to be dropped from the Czechia Olympic crew roster due to the higher physique damage he suffered within the January 29 recreation in opposition to the Philadelphia Flyers. Zacha had held out hope that he would have the ability to play within the Milan-Cortina Video games however on Saturday he had to get replaced on the roster by Filip Chlapik of he Czech Extraliaga. The lack of Zacha, who was one of many first group of gamers named to the roster, places dent into Czecia’s medal hopes.
The query now could be how lengthy will Zacha be sidelined.
The Bruins’ subsequent recreation is an enormous one on February 26 on the Backyard in opposition to the Columbus Blue Jackets, who’re 4 factors behind the B’s for the second wild card. The video games then come quick and livid. They’ve 16 video games in 29 days n March. A wholesome Zacha shall be very important for the B’s to safe a playoff spot. Zacha has 15-22-37 totals whereas centering a line with Casey Mittelstadt and Viktor Arvidsson, which has drawn the hardest defensive assignments on most nights.
The timing of the damage must be significantly heartbreaking for Zacha, who has been one of many B’s most sturdy gamers in his three plus seasons right here. Earlier than this season, he performed 242 of 246 video games. This season, he’s performed in 54 of 57 video games.
In the meantime, a few B’s gamers have been have been seen already on the Video games. Zacha’s countryman David Pastrnak was a flag bearer for Czechia on the opening ceremonies.
And Crew USA’s Charlie McAvoy despatched out a cheeky (actually and figuratively) publish on X. Considered one of half of the publish was the gradual movement video of Florida Panther Sandis Vilmanis’ flying elbow to the top of the Bruin defenseman side-by-side with the top results of it, which was an image of McAvoy’s surgically repaired jaw severely swollen.
That was apparently McAvoy’s touch upon how he felt concerning the resolution to present Vilmanis receiving only a two-minute penalty (the B’s wound up shorthanded after a roughing penalty and a bench minor in response to the hit) and the Division of Participant Security’s resolution to not give any supplemental self-discipline to Vilmanis.
Vilmanis didn’t play for the remainder of the sport after the primary interval hit. The Panthers introduced he didn’t play due to an higher physique damage, however he was again within the lineup the subsequent evening in Tampa.
Satirically, Crew USA’s first recreation is on February 12 in opposition to Vilmanis’ Latvian crew.
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