BOSTON -– While Bruins coach Claude Julien offered some promising news on the status of injured forward Daniel Paille and defenseman Andrew Ference prior to the start of Saturday's matinee with Washington, there was not much new to report on the progress of the club's more long-term injuries.
Forward Rich Peverley remains on track for the original projection of missing a month to a month and a half after suffering a knee injury on a hit from then-Canadiens defenseman Hal Gill in Montreal. It's coming up on four weeks since that Feb. 15 incident, but Julien didn't offer much in the way of an update on Saturday.
"With Peverley, it's been clear," Julien said. "It's been 4-6 weeks and it remains the same."
Nathan Horton has been out since suffering a concussion on a hit from Flyers forward Tom Sestito in Philadelphia on Jan. 22, and there is still no timetable for his return.
"With Horton, it's still the same situation as before," Julien said. "He's still not skating. He's working out to a certain extent, but there's still some issues that prevent him from taking the next step. So that's where we're with in regards to those two guys. Same thing with Tuukka [Rask], it's 4-6 [weeks] and that's not going to change."
Rask suffered an abdominal/groin strain last Saturday against the Islanders, leading the Bruins to sign veteran Marty Turco this week to add an experienced backup in goal.
Ference (lower body) and Paille (upper body) both skated on their own Saturday morning but remained out for the game against the Capitals. They are day-to-day and are expected to accompany the team on its three-game road trip, which begins Sunday in Pittsburgh.
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