BRIGHTON -- Charlie McAvoy skated on his own for the second day in a row ahead of Bruins practice and continues to be on track for an imminent return from a foot injury suffered blocking a shot in the final game before the Christmas break.
The second-year defenseman will have to get through a full practice with the team before a timetable for a potential return can be determined, but the B's practice on Wednesday and it's possible McAvoy could be back as soon as later this week. It's progress for a player who’s already missed 25 games this season due to injuries.
The Tuesday pre-practice skate was a fairly rigorous one and it looked like McAvoy was certainly feeling better, so that's all good news.
“Our next practice [on Wednesday] would be a pretty good determiner because then the contact comes in," said coach Bruce Cassidy. "And then you’re a little more alive [in game conditions] than in a pregame skate."
Tuukka Rask will be the starting goaltender against the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday night, and it looked like Colby Cave and Steve Kampfer will once again be the healthy scratches up front.
Here are the B’s projected line combos and D-pairings based on Monday’s practice and Tuesday’s optional morning skate at Warrior Ice Arena:
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Boston Bruins
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Marchand-Bergeron-Pastrnak
DeBrusk-Krejci-Backes
Kuraly-Acciari-Wagner
Heinen-JFK-Donato
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Chara-Carlo
Grzelcyk-Miller
Krug-Moore
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Rask
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