Kevan Miller injury: Boston Bruins players wanted to ‘get it done for Millsy’ after hit sent veteran D to hospital

BOSTON — David Pastrnak said the Bruins’ mission going into the third period was simple. After seeing Kevan Miller sent to the hospital after a lunging hit to the head by Dmitry Orlov, they wanted to earn a win for their injured defenseman.

“Especially for a guy like Millsy, who’d step up for every guy in the room, we felt like we have to get it done for him,” said Pastrnak, who had a goal and an assist in the 4-1 win. “He’s a big part of our team. That was our main focus going into the third – to get it done for him. …It was a huge response, stepping up for Millsy.”

Bruce Cassidy said Miller was getting CT scans but didn’t know anything beyond that after the game.

“Kevin is at the hospital undergoing some CTs,” he said. “Until he gets back we won’t know nothing there.”

Cassidy has been subtly frustrated by the officiating all series and didn’t like that Orlov wasn’t penalized more severely.

“What happened there is their guy left his feet, borderline late, and drove right under his chin,” Cassidy said. “(The ref) told me skating by that when they reviewed it, they thought (Orlov) made contact first with his shoulder or his upper body. It didn’t look like that from our vantage point. … Obviously frustrating to watch that call and even the review go by the wayside as essentially a 2-minute minor.

“We played through it. We have to take care of our business and they have to take care of theirs,” Cassidy continued. “I didn’t see it the way they did. It’s unfortunate for Kevan, but we’ll see how he is.”

“You never want to see a hit like that. Millsy is a huge part of our team. He sticks up for everyone. We wanted to do that for him and make sure we’re doing it the right way and beating them on the scoreboard not taking stupid penalties,” he said. “Everyone made a point to refocus. We had a power play to start the next period. We wanted to make sure we capitalized on that.