BOSTON — Patrice Bergeron took another big step in his recovery from his latest concussion on Monday when he returned to practice with his Bruins teammates at the Garden, but when he'll return to game action remains uncertain.
Bergeron skated on his own for the second straight day before practice began, then stayed out with the team for about half of the club's workout. Bergeron spent some time working on the power play, and stayed around for some line rushes.
He wore a white jersey like the top line of David Krejci, Milan Lucic and Nathan Horton, but did spend some time in the drills with his usual yellow-clad linemates, Brad Marchand and Mark Recchi, who were joined by Rich Peverley as Chris Kelly slid down to the third line with Michael Ryder and Tyler Seguin. Bergeron did not participate in any battle drills or engage in any significant contact during the workout.
"As I said the other day, we're going through the protocol of what he has to go through and there's not much more to update you guys on, except that I think when he is ready to go, you guys will know it," Bruins coach Claude Julien said. "It's just something that you can't predict how quickly or how slow it's going to be. It's just one of those situations where right now you see him going through what you saw him going through today, skating. But that's protocol. And right now we're not ready to make any comments because he's just going through those stages."
When asked if Bergeron had been ruled out for Tuesday's Game 2, Julien first offered a "no comment," then added, "I don't know. Is that better? I don't know."
Bergeron's teammates aren't any more certain of his status, but they were at least encouraged to see him join them for part of practice.
"Definitely, the first time he came in to shoot on me, I didn't realize he was on the ice," goalie Tim Thomas said. "He got a good shot off on me and I was like, 'Whoa.' We missed that. We missed a lot of things that he brings. But we want him to be ready to play when he does. I don't exactly know his status, but it's always fun to see him on the ice."
Nathan Horton agreed, but also stressed that as much as the Bruins want Bergeron back in the lineup, it's not up to them and Bergeron and the team have to make sure he is completely healthy before returning.
"It has nothing to do with us, it's how he feels," Horton said. "Obviously he was out there today, but I don't think anyone knows exactly how he feels. Hopefully he comes back soon. We obviously need him. He's a great player and it's definitely nice for everybody to see him out there and skating so well again."
Tyler Seguin, who played his first playoff game Saturday with Bergeron sidelined, was as excited as anyone to see Bergeron back on the ice.
"It's very nice, everyone feels good that he's making great strides," Seguin said. "He looked pretty good out there to me, so it's going to be great to have him back soon."
Seguin could find himself back out of the lineup when Bergeron returns, but his performance in Game 1 could force Julien to rethink that lineup. Julien would only say "we'll answer those when the time comes" when he was asked if Seguin would stay in the lineup when Bergeron comes back.
In the meantime, the Bruins are just glad that Bergeron continues to make strides, even if no one is certain exactly when he'll be able to play again.
"Whenever he is ready to come back, obviously he's a big part of our team," Peverley said. "It's a big boost and hopefully he can be really healthy before he comes back."
