BOSTON – Bruins defender Brandon Carlo is “feeling better” but remains week after the header that gave Washington Capitals striker Tom Wilson a seven-game suspension, coach Bruce Cassidy said on Sunday.
“Obviously he’ll be out for a while,” Cassidy said.
The NHL suspended Wilson for the fifth time in his career on Saturday, after his first-half shot on Friday night sent Carlo to the hospital in an ambulance. The Capital Wing will also lose $ 311,781.61 in salary.
“What separates this hit 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 history who takes advantage of an opponent who is in a defenseless position and does so with significant force.”
Although no diagnosis was released, Carlo came out horribly leaving the ice after Wilson smashed his head into the glass, a telltale sign of a contusion. Cassidy called the hit a “predator,” but declined to comment on the suspension.
“I was glad they looked at him and evaluated a certain discipline,” he said. “I made known my feelings about what I felt with the blow … I kind of went and got ready for New Jersey.”
The Bruins return to the ice on Sunday night against the Devils.
“The boys are in a good place,” Cassidy said, adding that he sent a message to Carlo on Sunday morning. “They’re worried about Brandon. Getting good news that he’s feeling better helps the group. We’re a close group.”