As has been the case pretty much all season, the Boston Bruins have some defensemen working their way back from injuries.
At times this campaign, Boston’s blue line has been absolutely decimated. Most recently, the B’s have been without veteran defenders John Moore (upper-body) and Kevan Miller (lower-body), the latter of whom has been unavailable all postseason.
While Connor Clifton has played well during the playoffs, he hasn’t been flawless, and the Bruins could be without Charlie McAvoy after the league suspended him one game for his hit on Josh Anderson.
However, Bruins general manager Don Sweeney met with the media Tuesday afternoon, and he shared mostly encouraging updates on Miller and Moore.
“Nothing definitive,” Sweeney said of Miller, via a team-provided transcript. “Kevan’s made some progress, so we’re hopeful. He’s got some tests, some benchmarks he has to before he gets back on the ice, but he’s made some progress. So, we told him all along, the further play, the more he has an opportunity to continue to work and get back in there. Hopefully, we give him that opportunity.”
So the real question is: Has Miller been ruled out for the B’s conference final against the Carolina Hurricanes?
“Nope,” Sweeney said. “No, no, no.”
Moore, meanwhile, has not played since Game 7 of the Bruins’ first-round Stanley Cup playoff series against the Toronto Maple Leafs. While Sweeney’s description of Moore’s ailment was a little vague, he did indicate the 28-year-old is available.
“Yeah. John’s available,” Sweeney said. “He’s just dealing with stuff that makes it hard, but he’s available.”
With McAvoy’s suspension and if neither Moore nor Miller are ready to go for some reason, Steven Kampfer seems like the logical next man up.
Game 1 of Bruins-Hurricanes will be Thursday night at TD Garden.
