Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau said that Jay Beagle, whose recent fight against Arron Asham gained notoriety because of Asham’s taunt and the verbal skirmishes that followed, is not dealing with concussion-like symptoms, but the team isn’t taking any chances.
Beagle has been held off the ice for two straight days and he isn’t expected to play on Saturday. Boudreau told the Washington Post that he was just being “overly cautious,” but he also added:
This comes on the heels of Brooks Laich’s recent comments that the NHL is babysitting the players too much when it comes to concussions. Even Boudreau acknowledged that if it was up to Beagle, he would have practiced on Saturday and it’s hard to keep him off the ice. That being said, we can see the logic in Boudreau’s decision to tread lightly for a few days instead of potentially making things worse in the event that he does have a concussion.
This fight has also added new kindling to the fire that is the Pittsburgh Penguins-Washington Capitals rivalry. The two sides will face each other again on December 1st.