Taylor Hall initially was listed as week-to-week when the Bruins forward suffered an injury against the Philadelphia Flyers in preseason action.
But he’s doing everything he can to not only not be week-to-week, but be ready for Boston’s season opener Wednesday against the Washington Capitals.
Hall has been practicing at Warrior Ice Arena all week and Friday he skated in a non-contact jersey with the main group of players. While that’s certainly an encouraging sign, it’s still not a guarantee he’ll be ready.
“Well, he’s not in contact yet, so right now I don’t have an answer for that,” head coach Jim Montgomery told reporters after practice when asked if Hall practicing mean he would be ready.
The Bruins have one more preseason game before getting ready for regular season action. It’s probable Hall won’t play Saturday against the New Jersey Devils, but he’s one step closer.
Pavel Zacha, who skated in Hall’s place during the Bruins’ 5-4 preseason win over the New York Rangers on Wednesday night, had immediate chemistry with David Pastrnak and David Krejci. The trio combined for eight points, with Zacha notching three of them. The chemistry was so noticeable, in fact, that Montgomery is thinking about keeping Zacha with Pastrnak and Krejci together.
“The opportunity for the growth in his game is high,” Montgomery told reporters. “I would like to get him settled on a line as quickly as possibly so that we can see more growth in his game.”
If Zacha continues to show what he did earlier this week, then Montgomery will have some decisions to make. Hall could move to the first or third line when he’s healthy, but that’s a bridge Montgomery will cross when he gets to it. For now, he’s going to keep an eye on Zacha’s growth to see where he best fits with this team.
“They were really good in practice (on Thursday), and obviously the game they played was really good,” Montgomery told reporters. “He seemed to have a lot of jump. Now, is that jump just because he’s getting better throughout camp and he can do that with anyone? I don’t know. But right now, that chemistry with Krejci and Pasta is really good.”
This is a good problem for the Bruins to have, especially with Brad Marchand sidelined into November.
Boston wraps up its slate of preseason games Saturday night against the Devils. Puck drop from TD Garden is set for 7 p.m. ET and you can catch the game on NESN.
