The wait continues for the Boston Bruins to have a fully healthy roster, but more returns appear to be on the horizon.
David Backes went back into the lineup Sunday after missing nearly a month with an upper-body injury, and Brett Ritchie now is available, though he won’t play Tuesday against the Carolina Hurricanes.
And while a few others remain on the shelf, a timeline for return could be nearing for Patrice Bergeron. Following Tuesday’s morning skate in Brighton, Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy shared the latest on the top-line center.
“He skated today,” Cassidy said. “Until he’s with our group … I don’t want to pick a date. I’m guessing Thursday’s doubtful, seeing as we only have one practice. Saturday probably a better timeline, maybe as late as Monday. I’m sure he’ll be on the trip unless he has a setback. That’s the best I can give you right now.”
John Moore has yet to play this season, but he could draw back into the lineup Thursday against the Chicago Blackhawks. Moore was sent down to the AHL on Sunday for a conditioning stint but played in just one game before getting called back up.
“We’re looking at Thursday,” Cassidy said of Moore’s potential return date. “We’ll see how tonight goes obviously. John went and played in Charlotte the other day for Providence. Had a good game, felt good, got some of the rust off, got some of the uncertainties taken care of in terms of puck retrieval, getting hit, put himself in situations where he had to rely on his shoulder and he passed the test. We had discussed probably Thursday anyway with the medical staff, the coaching staff and him on when he’d comfortable. So that was kind of the plan, so we’ll see if we stick to it on Thursday. Like I said we’ll see how we do tonight.”
Moore has been out since undergoing offseason shoulder surgery just days after the Stanley Cup Final concluded. The veteran defenseman sustained the injury late in the regular season, but elected to delay fixing it so that he could play through it in the postseason.
