In today’s News & Notes, the Boston Bruins have revealed their Winter Classic uniforms, Evgeni Malkin will not be suspended, Brock Boeser has been sent back to Vancouver and a quick injury update around the NHL.
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Bruins Reveal Winter Classic Jerseys
The Boston Bruins are kicking it old school with their uniforms for the 2019 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic. The team official revealed their uniforms for the game on Thursday which featured a throwback design to the team’s uniforms from the 1930s.
"When you talk about Winter Classic and outdoor hockey, you think about a little more old school and that's why we went back to the [1930s]."
📝 Complete details and reaction to the #NHLBruins new #WinterClassic sweater: https://t.co/2xUd32d24h
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) November 8, 2018
“I think it came out fantastic. I love the logo, I love going back through our team’s history,” Bruins’ President Cam Neely said of the jerseys. “There’s so much great history and a lot of great uniforms that have been worn and to find a jersey – I think the 75th-anniversary jersey was somewhat similar with the logo.”
“This is going back to the ’30s with the color scheme and the logo, so I think when you talk about Winter Classic and outdoor hockey, you think about a little more old school and that’s why we went back to the ’30s.”
A nice hidden feature in the jerseys came with shamrocks on the inside of the collars that include numbers representing the years that the Bruins won the Stanley Cup.
“I wanted to pay a little homage to Notre Dame and the shamrock that is so famous there,” said Neely. “Obviously it’s on the Winter Classic patch, but we put the years of the Stanley Cups in the collar just to give it a little bit more flavor…it ties in Notre Dame a little bit with the success of the franchise and the six Stanley Cups.”
Malkin Not Facing Supplemental Discipline
When Malkin was handed a five-minute major penalty and was subsequently ejected for his head contact to Washington Capitals’ forward T.J. Oshie, there was an expectation that the NHL’s Department of Player Safety would react to the play and hand down some sort of punishment. Upon review of the play, however, the NHL determined that the penalty and the ejection were enough punishment for the play.
The play was an intriguing one as Malkin very clearly lifted his elbow towards Oshie’s head. What’s interesting about it, however, is the fact that Oshie skated face-first into Malkin’s elbow with his own head down. Because of this, the NHL, per Chris Johnston, seemed to rule that Malkin was simply bracing for contact despite the fact that his elbow was indeed raised.
Whether or not the league got the call correct here, it has still created a shockwave around NHL fanbases for all the wrong reasons.
Boeser Sent Home to Vancouver
The Vancouver Canucks are handling Boeser’s groin injury with extreme care. While the young forward may have shown improvement as of late in regards to his groin injury that he originally suffered on Oct. 18, the team still feels that he needs to have it seen by a specialist back in Vancouver. For that reason, the team has sent Boeser back home from Boston – where the Canucks are playing Thursday night, back to Vancouver.
“He’s gotten better; he’s just not quite over the hump,” said Canucks head coach Travis Green. “We want to make sure before he goes back in.”
Boeser has been excellent so far in 2018-19 with four goals and 11 points in 13 games and he appeared to be getting hot in his last game that saw him score two goals and four points against the Colorado Avalanche on Nov. 2.
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For now, the Canucks are going to let a specialist deal with Boeser to make sure they can get him back to full health.
NHL Injury Update
In other injury news, the Ottawa Senators saw forward Zack Smith return to practice Thursday in a non-contact jersey and a full-face shield. The veteran forward has been out of action since taking a skate to his face on Oct. 26 which led to facial fractures.
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The Senators also saw Bobby Ryan, Mark Boroweicki and Brady Tkachuk in practice as they are all set to play when the Senators to take on the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday. Both Ryan and Borowiecki missed the Senators’ contest against the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday while Tkachuk has been out since Oct. 18 with a torn ligament in his leg.
The Philadelphia Flyers saw James van Riemsdyk on the ice for practice Thursday. The veteran forward is still recovering from a lower-body injury that he suffered in only the second game of the season. He’s still more than a week away from returning to action per Dave Isaac.
The Montreal Canadiens will re-evaluate Paul Byron next week after head coach Claude Julien mentioned that the forward is week-to-week for the time being. Byron has played in 11 games so far this season and has scored four goals and seven points already which is the best pace he’s played at throughout his career.
The 29-year-old signed a four-year contract extension in September.
Chicago Blackhawks’ forward Brandon Saad received stitches and dental work after taking a puck to his face Wednesday night. He wore a shield at the team’s morning skate and he’ll wear it when the Blackhawks take on the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday.
