Good news may be coming for Marco Sturm and the Bruins.
Winners of two straight games, the Bruins will bring both defenseman Charlie McAvoy and top-line winger David Pastrnak with them for a three-game road trip that kicks off Tuesday night in St. Louis. It’s more than just a little December vacation through the Central Division for both players, too, with McAvoy and Pastrnak considered legitimate options to suit up for the Bruins on the trip.
“For us, we just want to make sure they’re gonna be ready to go physically, mentally,” Sturm said following practice. “We don’t want to rush things. But both look good right now, and hopefully on the road at one point, they can play.”
The encouraging update on both players came following Monday’s practice at Brighton’s Warrior Ice Arena headlined by both players back in regular practice jerseys after skating in non-contact jerseys in recent days.
And both players spoke about their status following the skate.
“Today, I got through practice,” Pastrnak, who has missed the last five games with a suspected lower-body injury sustained in the third period of a Nov. 26 win over the Islanders, said. “Feeling great, good to be back with the boys out there.”
Pastrnak admitted that he’s played through similar injuries in the past. And though the Bruins decided to be more cautious this time around, Pastrnak’s unexpectedly quick ramp-up back to a potential return to play has been aided by off-ice work.
“I’ve been able to work on my game outside [of] the ice, too,” Pastrnak acknowledged. “The trainers are doing a great job. I feel good now.”
When asked if he will play at some point on this road trip, Pastrnak offered a confident “yes” and moved on to the next question.
McAvoy, meanwhile, is working his way back from a facial surgery from when a deflected puck rocked him in the face in a Nov. 15 win over the Canadiens. McAvoy, who suffered a linear jaw fracture and lost several teeth on the incident, underwent surgery the following week and has been skating more in the last week.
He’s still on a primarily liquid diet, but has taken great strides when it comes to being ready to jump back into action for the Black and Gold.
“One day at a time, but every day, I’ve felt better,” McAvoy said. “We’re getting the chance now to do more, so skate more, skate longer, work out off the ice. We’re making strides and healing on the fly, so all good things.”
Another positive (and rather unexpected) development for McAvoy and his road back to the ice has been his ability to regain the 20 pounds he lost between the injury and his return to the ice. At one point dipping under 200 pounds, McAvoy said that he’s been able to gain about half the weight he lost. Speaking last Friday, McAvoy acknowledged the difficulty of finding ways to put it back on.
Now, McAvoy didn’t seem ready to announce himself as back in for Tuesday’s game in St. Louis. But he did establish a clear goal for himself for the three-game trek featuring contests against the Blues, Jets (on Thursday), and conclude with a Sunday night matchup against the Wild before the team returns home.
“I’m hoping at some point on the trip that I’ll get back in,” said McAvoy.
There has been an element of the Bruins trying to take things slow with both players — the Bruins don’t want this to be a situation where they return for one game and end up back on the shelf — and that remains the case for Sturm.
“We still have to talk to all the trainers,” Sturm said when asked if either player could return for the club’s head-to-head with the Blues on Tuesday. “I would be surprised [if McAvoy or Pastrnak played in that game], but you never know.”