BOSTON — Patrice Bergeron took another step forward in his recovery from a concussion on Tuesday when he participated in the Bruins' morning skate at the TD Garden.
But it's still not known yet if the Bruins' leading playoff scorer will be able to return for Tuesday night's Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Final against Tampa Bay.
Bergeron missed Game 1 on Saturday after suffering his latest concussion in the final game of Boston's second-round sweep of Philadelphia. He skated on his own before Saturday's game and on Sunday, then joined the team for part of Monday's practice and Tuesday's morning skate.
"As far as Bergeron is concerned, I think if he's in you're going to see him in the warm-up [Tuesday night]," Bruins coach Claude Julien said after the morning skate.
That will make Tuesday's pregame skate one of the most highly anticipated warm-ups in recent memory, but Bergeron has still not participated in any battle drills or engaged in any contact in those workouts, which could indicate that he is not quite ready for a return to game action yet.
When pressed on whether he already knew whether Bergeron would be able to play but not announcing it for a competitive advantage, Julien answered with a curt, "No comments."
"I think we need to move on to other things here," Julien added after another question on Bergeron's status. "I've got nothing else to say about Bergeron right now."
The Lightning are preparing for Bergeron to be in the lineup, just as they did prior to Game 1.
"Every time we play, we're planning for the other team to have their best players on the ice," Tampa Bay coach Guy Boucher said. "So we're never surprised or disappointed. I'm sure the other teams are the same."
