The initial pain was familiar, consistent with similar hits in the past, but he grew concerned when symptoms didn\u2019t fade away upon returning to the bench.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can push through certain injuries \u2014 that was my mentality \u2014 but with this, you\u2019re not even allowed to,\u201d he said, noting the league\u2019s protocols related to concussions. \u201cIt\u2019s hard, you\u2019re saying what your symptoms are, and for me, mentally, it wasn\u2019t my first one, so you\u2019re careful, right? You want it to be 100 percent before you get back on the ice.\u201d<\/p>\n
Team Czechia officials, said Zacha, understood his pain and predicament, as did family members who were looking forward to watching him compete in the Milan Cortina Games. Filip Chlapik, a familiar face from his junior days back home, subbed into his roster spot with the Czechs, who went on to fall to Canada in the quarterfinals.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe hit was not a bad hit and it wasn\u2019t really the hit itself, but my head hitting the glass,\u201d he said. \u201cI felt the headache right away, but it was the kind of hit that I don\u2019t usually get headaches from \u2026 it might be vision at first, but this was the headache and it started to get worse. It wasn\u2019t like a regular one for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Bruins will have both Zacha and Elias Lindholm back in the lineup for their return to regularly scheduled programming Thursday night vs. the Blue Jackets (game No. 58 of 82) at the Garden. Both veteran pivots were on the sidelines when the Bruins played their two games in Florida, both shootout losses<\/a>, prior to the Olympic break.<\/p>\n According to coach Marco Sturm, both Elias and Hampus Lindholm visited the club\u2019s Warrior Ice Arena facility Saturday morning, but neither of the Swedish Olympians joined the 50-minute workout. Per Sturm, they\u2019ll both be off again on Sunday and rejoin the group for Monday\u2019s workout at Warrior.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Team Finland\u2019s Joonas Korpisalo and Henri Jokiharju were in still in Milan for the bronze-medal game vs. Slovakia. Americans Charlie McAvoy and Jeremy Swayman won\u2019t be on a plane until after Sunday\u2019s gold-medal game vs. Canada<\/a>.<\/p>\n Asked how soon he expects any of those four to rejoin his Black and Gold gang, Sturm had little more than a shrug to offer.<\/p>\n \u201cWho knows?!\u201d said Sturm, breaking into a laugh. \u201cI\u2019m not going to worry that [much]. They have a big game [Sunday] and usually they fly out the next day, right? They fly out, and we go from there.\u201d<\/p>\n . . .<\/p>\n Prior to the puck dropping anew Thursday, both Bruins goalies, Swayman and Korpisalo, will be working from a virtually cold start. They backed up for their respective squads in Milan, though Swayman made one start in the preliminary round against Denmark<\/a>.<\/p>\n Swayman\u2019s last active duty for the Bruins was Feb. 1, a 6-5 shootout loss to the Lightning<\/a> in the outdoor game at Tampa. Three nights later, Korpisalo had the net in Sunrise, Fla., where the Bruins again fell in the shootout, 5-4, to the Panthers<\/a>.<\/p>\n Both goaltenders wrapped up on a down note on this side of the Atlantic, and now will return after a fairly lazy stay at Olympus.<\/p>\n Sturm was asked how he\u2019ll get Swayman and Korpisalo tuned up upon their return.<\/p>\n \u201cUsually, you have one guy leaving [for the Games] and nobody has two guys leaving,\u201d said Sturm. \u201cThe good things is, both of them didn\u2019t play every night, so I guess I see that as a good thing, selfishly, as a Bruin. But somehow we\u2019ll have to make sure they get some reps in, as much as we can, as early as we can, because we need \u2018em. We need one of them at least. I\u2019m going to wait, see what happens and figure it out \u2014 see how everyone feels and hopefully they can be with us as soon as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n For the moment, noted Sturm, AHL Providence goalie Michael DiPietro would not be in consideration to make his Boston debut.<\/p>\n \u201cAgain, who knows, it might change in a couple of days,\u201d said Sturm. \u201cWe\u2019ll see where the guys are at when they come back, and Mikey might come back for another practice. We\u2019ll see and go from there next week.\u201d<\/p>\n The Bruins will practice again Sunday and Monday at Warrior Ice Arena<\/a>, and again Wednesday after a day of rest.<\/p>\n Updates from the 2026 Winter Olympics, Jaylen Brown’s NBA All-Star weekend, and more on this week’s episode of Boston Globe Sports Report.<\/p>\n![\"Instead](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/PMLRONULUPMAD255P7PP2S52UQ.jpg\")
Instead of the Black and Gold, Jeremy Swayman was outfitted in red, white, and blue for his Olympic start, and win, vs. Denmark.JULIEN DE ROSA\/AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n