The Boston Bruins have made do with Charlie McAvoy sidelined to begin the season, but they have to be itching to get the star defenseman back into the lineup.
That still seems at least a month away, with McAvoy still recovering from offseason shoulder surgery, but the 24-year-old continues to make strides in his recovery from injury.
McAvoy participated in Thursday's optional morning skate ahead of Boston's matchup with the Dallas Stars at TD Garden and practiced without a non-contact jersey that he had worn up until this point, according to Bruins reporter Eric Russo. That's certainly a good sign that McAvoy is progressing.
The key member of Boston's blue line also stopped by the NESN broadcast booth at the beginning of the second period against the Stars, and while he wouldn't say if he's on schedule or ahead of schedule in terms of coming back either in late November or early December, McAvoy provided more positive news about his injury.
"I feel good," McAvoy told Jack Edwards and Andy Brickley during the NESN broadcast. "Between our docs and our trainers, everyone is such a big part of this and they all have been doing so well to write out this program for me to get me feeling back to 100% as quick as I can. So, I think we're doing really well right now and just want to keep going one day at a time."
McAvoy isn't the only player on the Bruins that is working his way back from injury. Brandon Carlo returned against the Stars after missing four games due to a concussion while Brad Marchand is still expected to rejoin the Bruins around Thanksgiving.
