BOSTON -- David Pastrnak and Charlie McAvoy will travel with the Boston Bruins on their upcoming three-game road trip, which means they each could return by the end of the week.
The Bruins open the trip against the St. Louis Blues at Enterprise Center on Tuesday (8 p.m. ET; FDSNSW, NESN), then play at the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday and the Minnesota Wild on Sunday.
“We just have to make sure nothing will change,” coach Marco Sturm said Monday. “I think we’ve been very, very good structure-wise for a bit and that’s going to be the biggest thing, the guys who are coming back, they have to find their way back in the lineup, playing the same way, just exactly the way they finished. I think that’s all. For us, we just want to make sure they’re going to be ready to go physically, mentally. We don’t want to rush things, but both look good right now and hopefully on the road at one point they can play.”
Pastrnak (undisclosed) has not played since Nov. 26 against the New York Islanders. It was an injury he'd had before, so he said he fully expected to return the following game, two days later against the New York Rangers. Instead, he had not skated with the Bruins until Monday, when he took the ice in a noncontact jersey ahead of the flight to St. Louis.
“It [stinks],” Pastrnak said. “I’m happy I was back out there today. Felt great. See how I feel tomorrow. I’ve been pretty fortunate the last couple years, so just want to get back out there.”
Pastrnak has 29 points (11 goals, 18 assists) in 25 games this season.
“When the injury happened, I honestly thought I will be playing next game and I wasn’t able to,” Pastrnak said. “So, something new. It’s tough. But at the end of the day … I’ve been able to work on my game outside of the ice too. The trainer’s doing a great job. Feel good now.”
McAvoy was hit in the face with a puck in a game against the Montreal Canadiens on Nov. 15, necessitating facial surgery. He said he's lost 20 pounds and has been limited to a liquid diet that was supposed to last six weeks.
He has 14 points, all assists, in 19 games, and leads all Bruins defenseman in time on ice per game (23:46).
“Getting it back,” McAvoy said. “One day at a time, but every day I feel better so keep doing that.”
Pastrnak and McAvoy each said that they did not know when they could return, but that they are hoping and expecting to at some point on the trip. McAvoy said he’s getting the chance to skate more and skate longer, as his strength starts to return.
“We’ll see,” McAvoy said. “I’m going on the trip with the expectation, hoping that at some point along the way on the trip I’ll be able to get back in.”
Getting each of them back would be monumental for Boston (17-13-0), which entered Monday tied with the Tampa Bay Lightning at the top of the Atlantic Division. The Bruins have gone 4-2-0 in the past six games, even without Pastrnak and McAvoy.
“No matter who’s in or out, we play the same way,” McAvoy said. “Guys step up, we get big goals from guys, and defensively, we’re just a tough out. I think we’ve come a long way from the beginning of the year, when we were trying to understand what ‘Sturmy’ wanted from us to now where we’re playing a winning style; every night we’re going to be a tough out and that was what we wanted to be in the summer when we talked about it.
“We’re doing really good, about 30 (games) in now, but we’ve got a long way to go. But I think that’s even more encouraging as we can keep getting better.”
