The Boston Bruins announced Tuesday that Marc Savard is ready to return.
The forward has been officially cleared medically and will be in the lineup for Game One of the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
"He's an elite player and he's been chomping at the bit to play," Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli said. "The fact that we were able to clinch and allow time for him to get acclimated and a little practice I think is going to be very beneficial to Savvy and the team."
The team received the news that Savard had been cleared on Monday, but he did not play in the Bruins' series-clinching Game 6 win over the Buffalo Sabres.
The Bruins will play either the Pittsburgh Penguins or Philadelphia Flyers, depending on the winner of the series between the Washington Capitals and Montreal Canadiens. If Boston ends up playing Pittsburgh, the series will begin on Friday, and if their opponent is Philadelphia, the series is expected to start on Saturday.
Savard has been out since suffering a grade-two concussion on a hit by Matt Cooke versus the Penguins back on March 7.
The playmaker missed significant time during the regular season due to the concussion in addition to knee and foot injuries. He was limited to only 41 games during the 2009-10 campaign and had 10 goals and 21 assists.
