Stuart took part in the morning skate as the Bruins prepared to take on Philadelphia at the Garden. He won't be ready to play in that game, but Stuart is hopeful that his return isn't far off.
"Physically I feel great," Stuart said. "This is my first skate with the team, so it's nice getting out there with the guys and passing the puck a bit. I wasn't really shooting that much, but hopefully soon."
Stuart said that he has been cleared for contact and had the cast removed last week. He was wearing a brace, which he expects to continue wearing for a few weeks once he starts playing again.
"I'm hoping [to play next week]," said Stuart, who was scheduled to meet with the doctors and have the hand X-rayed again later on Thursday. "It's just get healthy and make sure I can play, and then it's up to the coaches. It's not like I just get a free pass back into the lineup. You gotta earn it."
Stuart's return will leave Bruins coach Claude Julien with some tough decisions on the blue line. Adam McQuaid has played very well in providing the physical presence the club lacked with Stuart sidelined, and rookie Steven Kampfer has added a sorely needed offensive dimension to the defense since being called up from Providence after Stuart's injury.
"Obviously I want the guys to be playing well," Stuart said. "It's just going to make me work even harder and play well when I do get back. That's definitely the case — you have to earn your way back."
Julien is deferring any decisions on the lineup for now.
"It's probably a little early to answer that question," Julien said. "Again, why answer it when we don't even know how far he is? I guess when the situation happens, we'll deal with it. There's still a ways to go. Anything can happen. There's lots of games, so sometimes you have to make those decisions, sometimes you don't, so I'll give myself a little break on that one."
Julien was also a bit more cautious in his projections for Stuart's return date.
"He's progressing normally, I guess," Julien said. "As far as how close he is, I'm not sure yet, I don't know if anybody can predict that. I could say a week to 10 days and it could be a little bit earlier and it could be a little bit more. I think it's one of those hand injuries that you have to make sure heals properly. And the first day he went out, he could feel it but that was normal and it got better and good enough that he could skate with us today and do some line drills."
Stuart has been through this situation before, as he was sidelined much of last season with a broken sternum, broken finger and hand infection.
"It definitely doesn't get easier," Stuart said. "I don't care who you are, you always want to be playing. You want to be in the lineup. It's never fun being on the outside. But having the experience [of being injured before] helps mentally. I kind of knew a little bit more what to expect."
That's a big change from Stuart's first few years in the league. Prior to last season's run of bad luck, Stuart was a mainstay in the Bruins' lineup, playing 214 consecutive games.
"The irony of that is that for the longest of time he was like an iron man," Julien said. "He never got hurt and then last year he had those situations happen and it just seems they all come in bunches. So it's part of the game unfortunately. You just have to bite the bullet, fight through it and work your way back into the lineup when you're healed."
