Bruins head coach Claude Julien confirmed Wednesday afternoon that Dennis Seidenberg skated in Boston as he recovers from major knee surgery, but he also said the veteran defenseman is “not even close” to returning to the lineup.
Seidenberg suffered a torn ACL and MCL in a Dec. 27 game against the Ottawa Senators and had surgery soon after.
The Bruins have replaced Seidenberg with 26-year-old Kevan Miller, who has filled in admirably. He has provided some of the toughness, defensive skill and penalty killing that Boston lost when Seidenberg went out of the lineup.
In fact, Miller has played so well that the Bruins would be better off taking their time with Seidenberg and letting him fully recover instead of rushing his rehab so he could come back in the later rounds of the Stanley Cup playoffs if possible.
Julien also told reporters that defenseman Adam McQuaid has been on the ice, but that his return to game action is far from imminent. McQuaid hasn’t played since Jan. 19 and has been limited to 30 games this season because of a quad injury.
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Chris Kelly picked up an injury during Tuesday night’s 4-3 shootout loss to the Minnesota Wild. Julien also provided an update on his status:
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Kelly’s status for Thursday’s road game against the Winnipeg Jets is uncertain.
