Where Bruins’ Danton Heinen Stands In Recovery From Playoff Injury

BOSTON -- The Bruins are getting a reinforcement back on the blue line for Game 3 with Andrew Peeke available to play against the Florida Panthers.

But the Bruins are still waiting on a return from veteran forward Danton Heinen, who has been out since Game 5 of Boston's opening-round series against the Toronto Maple Leafs due to an undisclosed injury.

It seems that Heinen isn't far off from being an option in Jim Montgomery's lineup, though.

"Heinen's still day-to-day," Montgomery told reporters following Friday's morning skate, per team-provided video.

Heinen was an after-thought signing for the Bruins this past offseason but turned in a productive campaign. The 28-year-old played 74 games and recorded 17 goals and 19 assists for 36 points, which was the most for Heinen since the 2017-18 season. He also registered the best plus-minus of his career at plus-16.

Heinen has some valuable postseason experience under his belt, too. He has played 45 playoff games in his career, with more than half of those coming in Boston's run to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2019. Heinen had no goals and one assist in five games this postseason.

Even with Heinen still sidelined, the Bruins could make a change with their bottom-six forwards for Game 3. Jakub Lauko could factor into the lineup in place of Jesper Boqvist.