and it isn't starting well
Injured Brad Marchand, Anders Bjork don’t make West Coast road trip
At the other end of the bad news/good news spectrum, center David Krejci, out 10 games with a suspected back ailment, continues to progress. He will make the trip and intends to play at some point.
“Krejci is traveling,” said Cassidy. “I guess now he’s called more day-to-day than week-to-week. So we’ll see where he’s at with a good team practice (today in Anaheim), and then we’ll have a better idea whether (tomorrow) is possible.”
Because of all the season-long roster absences and uncertainty, the B’s coach will not put much credence in the accepted wisdom about the NHL standings and Thanksgiving: That something like 77 percent of the time, the teams in playoff positions on Turkey Day will still be there at season’s end.
Barring a highly unlikely West Coast sweep, the B’s will not be in a playoff position next Thursday.
“We’re aware of the stats or the data with that,” said Cassidy. “We want to be mindful of that, but it can’t run the show, so to speak. As a group, the message has to be we’ve got to stick with the process. If you trust the process and play the right way, then we believe we’ll get enough points. It might not be by Nov. 24. That’s just the way we feel.
“Given the amount of adversity we’ve dealt with, I think we’re going to have to say the Thanksgiving thing goes. We don’t even know what our true team looks like. So I don’t think it’s fair to use that benchmark.”
