BOSTON — The Bruins have been struggling mightily to produce offense in the early portion of this season, but some help might be coming soon.
David Krejci, who has missed the past three games with a core injury suffered in practice last Tuesday, was back practicing with the club at the TD Garden on Wednesday and could return to game action as soon as Thursday against Toronto.
"I would love to be back in the game [Thursday], but on the other hand I have to be smart about it, too," Krejci said after the workout. "I have to be back on the ice when I feel 100 percent, not when I want to play. I've got to be smart about it, but I felt pretty good [Wednesday] so we'll see how it goes [Thursday]."
Krejci said there is a 50-50 chance he could play Thursday, and Bruins coach Claude Julien wasn't contesting that estimate.
"He's at a stage where he's practicing and we're trying to find out every day how much better he's getting," Julien said. "If that's what he said, I'm not going to argue that. We'll see how he feels [Thursday], but he's certainly coming around pretty well."
Krejci and the Bruins remain tight-lipped about the exact nature of the injury and how it occurred.
"I don't think I should tell," Krejci said when asked. "I don't want to get in trouble."
The Bruins' offense has been in trouble with just 11 goals through six games, but having a healthy Krejci back in the lineup could help get the attack going again. Krejci must first make sure he is fully healthy however.
"[Tuesday] I skated for the first time with the guys," Krejci said. "It was just a morning skate. [Wednesday] it was a real practice. I pushed it a little harder. I can't say that I pushed it 100 percent, but I was pretty close. I feel pretty good about how things went [Wednesday] morning, so hopefully I'll wake up [Thursday] and if I feel good, who knows, maybe I'll play [Thursday]."
Krejci has been cleared for contact, but didn't get too much of a test in that regard on Wednesday.
"I was doing some contact drills, but I don't think anybody really hit me," Krejci said. "If I feel better [Thursday] I'll ask a couple guys to do corner stuff."
If Krejci feels OK after that, he could be back in the lineup against the Maple Leafs. That's certainly what he's hoping.
"I would love to be in there [Thursday]," Krejci said. "It sucks when you're up there [in the press box] watching the games. It's not fun."
