BOSTON – Bruins defender Brandon Carlo “is feeling better,” but falls behind from week to week after the blow that left Washington Capitals forward Tom Wilson a seven-game suspension, coach Bruce Cassidy said on Sunday.
“Obviously he’ll be off for a while,” Cassidy said.
The NHL suspended Wilson for the fifth time in his career on Saturday, after Carlo was sent to hospital by ambulance by his goal in the first period of Friday night’s game. The Capitals wing will also lose $ 311,781.61 in wages.
“What sets this hit apart from others is the direct and significant contact with the face and head of a defenseless player, causing a violent impact with the glass,” the league said in a statement. “This is a player with a substantial disciplinary track record who takes advantage of an opponent who is in a defenseless position and does so with great force.”
Although not diagnosed, Carlo was fuzzy as he left the ice after Wilson hit his head against the glass, a telltale sign of a concussion. Cassidy called the hit “predatory,” but declined to go into the details of the suspension.
“I was glad they watched it, and they judged some discipline,” he said. “I’ve expressed my feelings about what I felt about the hit … I’ve gone a little further and get ready for New Jersey.”
The Bruins return to the ice against the Devils on Sunday evening.
“The boys are in a good place,” Cassidy said, adding that he texted Carlo on Sunday morning. “They are concerned about Brandon. Getting good news that he’s feeling better helps our group. We are a close-knit group. ‘