Taylor Hall will make his much-anticipated return with the Bruins when they take on the New Jersey Devils on Saturday, and it couldn’t come at a more opportune time.
Hall has been out since February with a lower-body injury, and Boston head coach Jim Montgomery confirmed his return in front of the TD Garden faithful.
Montgomery told reporters the 31-year-old winger will play without restrictions, but his time on the power play, an area Boston needs to improve on heading into the postseason, will be dependent on game flow.
“There’s a chance at tying history with the team,” Hall told reporters on his return, per team-provided video. “Being out for so long, it’s exciting to be back on a night we’re playing a good hockey team, a fast team. The pace of play is what you’re going to be seeing in the playoffs, so I’m excited to get back and really kind of get thrown into the fire, a little bit. And I feel like I’m ready, so it’s exciting.”
A win Saturday would tie the 1995-96 Detroit Red Wings and 2018-19 Tampa Bay Lightning for the wins record, and it would put the Bruins a step closer to the 132-point record set by the 1976-77 Montreal Canadiens.
David Krejci will miss his third straight game due to a lower-body injury, which means there won’t be a change in the first two lines. And it means Hall will slot back in familiar territory with Charlie Coyle and Trent Frederic on the third line.
“It helps a lot,” Hall said on playing on the same line with Coyle and Frederic. “They’re good players. They’ve been playing well. Coyle, obviously, had a really good game last game. I know what to expect with them, and they know what to expect with me. The key for me (Saturday) is to just get my legs underneath me as soon as I can and make plays when they’re there. If not, you have to keep it simple at times. That’s what you do. But when it’s time to make plays, I’m ready to do that, and feel like I worked on my game a lot. And my conditioning and my strength is is where it needs to be, so I’m excited to prove that in the game.”
Puck drop is set for 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
