Bruins rear guard Mark Stuart has been sporting a full "Grizzly Adams" playoff beard in support of his teammates, but apparently he won't be able to support them on the ice in the second round. Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli said Tuesday morning that Stuart is still recovering from surgery on his pinkie finger for cellulitis.
"He's still a little bit of a ways away and I don't anticipate seeing him in this next round," Chiarelli said.
Stuart was originally ruled out for two weeks in early April, but apparently the infection is taking a lot longer to subside. He was recently carrying an antibiotics pump around with him.
Stuart, when healthy, had emerged into a top-four, shutdown defenseman and a leader on the ice, but injuries limited him to 56 games. The injury snapped a streak of 214 consecutive games played, as he had not missed a game since breaking into the NHL on a full-time basis at the start of the 2007-08 season.
"We really miss him out there," forward Mark Recchi told NESN.com recently. "He has become a leader and a force on the ice. It would be nice to have him, but he needs to get healthy first."
