Bruins' F Marchand back from injury ahead of schedule
Published
Boston Bruins' star forward Brad Marchand is set to return to the lineup in their game Thursday against the Detroit Red Wings, per head coach Jim Montgomery.
Marchand, 34, missed the start of the season while recovering from off-season hip surgery, and was initially given a return time of late November or early December. That timeline was pushed forward to "before Thanksgiving" (Nov 24) by Montgomery earlier this week, but the recovery has accelerated again.
According to Montgomery, Marchand will still be playing a lighter workload - he is not expected to play in back-to-backs, meaning he will not play on Friday against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Marchand was drafted with the 71st overall pick of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft by the Bruins, and has been a stalwart of their lineup since his debut for the team in the 2009-10 season.
He is coming off a fourth All-Star season, where he scored 32 goals and registered 80 points in 70 games.
The Halifax, NS native has appeared in 874 career NHL games, all with Boston, and totaled 351 goals and 795 points.
Boston currently sits atop the Eastern Conference standings with a 6-1-0 record; their 12 points are three clear of any other team in the Conference through the first two weeks of the season.