WILMINGTON, Mass. — The Bruins' injury ward remains crowded, but coach Claude Julien is hopeful the newest admissions won't have to stay long.
After Friday's practice at Ristuccia area, Julien offered updates on the three Bruins currently out of the lineup. Defenseman Andrew Ference is the latest casualty, as he did not play in the third period of Thursday night's 7-5 win over the Flyers and missed practice on Fiday.
"Andrew suffered an upper-body injury [Thursday] night," Julien said. "He's deemed day-to-day, very questionable for [Saturday], but after that, I think we're hoping it's minor enough that we'll see him back soon."
Rookie Matt Bartkowski was recalled Friday morning and practiced with the team. He will likely play his second NHL game against the Penguins on Saturday in Ference's spot.
Forward Milan Lucic could also miss his third straight game on Saturday. He did not practice on Friday but did skate on his own before the rest of the team took the ice.
"Lucic is doing better," Julien said. "He skated today for the first time here. Obviously, [he's] another guy who's going to be questionable for [Saturday], but I think after that, we can hopefully expect some good news because he's progressing well."
Rounding out the injured list is defenseman Mark Stuart, who participated in his first full practice on Friday after joining his teammates in the morning skate on Thursday. Stuart is recovering from a broken hand, and after limiting himself to passing on Thursday, he added some shooting in Friday's workout.
"It felt really good," Stuart said. "I shot just wristers. I didn't want to push it too hard, but wrist shots from the point were all good."
Stuart hopes to return to game action sometime next week, but Julien cautioned against expecting Stuart back too soon.
"In Stuey's case, he hasn't been cleared medically," Julien said. "He's been cleared to practice, but he hasn't medically cleared to play. So it's certainly not my decision right now as we speak. I guess he said he's ready to go, but that's Stuey being Stuey. He'll play with a broken arm if you let him."
Stuart certainly is eager to get back, but he also understands the need for prudence.
"I hope so," Stuart said of playing next week. "I feel like I could go whenever, but it's up to the doctors.
"As a player, you're always going to feel like you can go and you want to help the team," Stuart added. "If you've been out a while you're itching to get back in there sooner than later, but maybe it's smarter to take that extra time."
