BOSTON — Dennis Seidenberg was on the ice with his Bruins teammates Tuesday at morning skate, continuing to progress in his rehab from back surgery.
The surgery, which Seidenberg underwent Sept. 23, carried a estimated eight-week recovery period, putting the veteran defenseman more than halfway toward his goal of returning to game action for Boston.
“I guess, originally, they said eight weeks, and it’s been five-and-a-half so far, so I’m on the right track,” Seidenberg said Tuesday in his first public comments since returning to practice last week. “Hopefully I feel better the next few days, and we go from there.
“… I’m on schedule, for sure. Just the next step would be taking physical contact in practice and see how that goes, and then go from there.”
Seidenberg said he is unsure of when, exactly, he’ll be ready to begin full-contact practice, advising reporters to take that matter up with the training staff. He also declined to speculate on where he’ll be slotted in the lineup when he does return.
“To be honest, I haven’t really thought of that yet,” Seidenberg said. “The guys have been playing great, and in the past, we’ve always played with each other. It doesn’t matter who it is, we’ve always changed the pairings. And I don’t see a reason it’s going to be different this time.”
The Bruins’ D-corps was a mess during the team’s disastrous season-opening homestand, but it has since stabilized. Boston still ranks fourth-to-last in the NHL in goal-against average but has surrendered one or fewer in each of its last three games.
“I think the confidence they play with (has been the biggest difference),” Seidenberg said. “Obviously, it was a tough start, giving up a lot of goals, and then, suddenly, the offense broke loose, started scoring, and we started shutting teams down. It’s always great to see guys getting more confident and more comfortable in the room, and you see it on the ice.”
Seidenberg, who said he is not experiencing any back pain, currently is focused on regaining the strength and power in his legs.
“That’s the only restriction I have right now,” he said.
The Bruins have won six of their last seven and carry a four-game win streak into Tuesday night’s matchup with the Western Conference-leading Dallas Stars.
Thumbnail photo via Jerome Miron/USA TODAY Sports Images
