If the Bruins could play the rest of their games on Causeway Street, they would be a shoo-in for the playoffs. But that's not how it works in the NHL and, as long as the B's have to play road games, it appears they will be challenged to nail down a post-season spot right down to the wire.
But if we're going to be real, San Jose Sharks defenceman Vincent Desharnais had the better return to action. Not only did he score a goal in his return, but he also had himself a highlight reel open-ice hit on Matthew Tkachuk. And he won a fight against Tkachuk. Safe to say it wasn't the impact that Matthew Tkachuk had hoped to make upon his return, especially with his Florida Panthers having just thirty-four games left to claim and solidify a playoff spot.
The timing could hardly have been worse. With the game already decided and the Islanders searching for answers after a lopsided defeat, the sight of their leading scorer limping to the locker room cast a shadow over everything else. Horvat had only recently returned from a five-game absence in December due to a lower-body injury, raising immediate concern about whether this was a recurrence or something new entirely.
