Coach Bruce Cassidy canceled practice Friday after the Bruins’ 3-1 win over the St. Louis Blues Thursday night, but defenseman Charlie McAvoy and a few others took the ice at Warrior Ice Arena for conditioning.
It was another positive sign for McAvoy, who had returned to the ice Thursday for an optional morning skate, joining his teammates for the first time since he underwent an ablation Jan. 22 to correct an abnormal heart rhythm.
The young defenseman was cleared to return to practice Wednesday, but he did not play Thursday and Cassidy has not yet decided whether he will play Saturday against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
“Yeah, there’s a chance,’’ said the coach. “Hasn’t been ruled out, but not going to say he’s in today either. He’s obviously getting closer.’’
McAvoy’s return would be a boost to the Bruins defense, especially if Kevan Miller is unable to play after sustaining an upper-body injury Thursday that forced him to miss the third period.
Cassidy said Miller was “day to day.’’ He did not skate Friday.
Forwards Brad Marchand and Frank Vatrano, defenseman Paul Postma, and goalie Anton Khudobin were the ones who opted to skate, along with McAvoy.
Postma hasn’t played since Dec. 13, but the Bruins could be in need of a defenseman if McAvoy and Miller are both unavailable.
“Hopefully one of them is able to play, and if not, Paul has been waiting for his chance,’’ Cassidy said. “We’ll have a good D core tomorrow, just can’t tell you who.’’
The Bruins will have a pregame skate before Saturday’s tilt with the Maple Leafs and Cassidy expects full attendance, with the possible exception of veteran Zdeno Chara.
“Everyone will go on the ice,’’ Cassidy said. “If we had skated today, tomorrow would be optional. There might be one or two guys [who sit out], probably Z, but for the most part, we want to work on a couple things, special teams and what not.’’
Cassidy noted that it would have been beneficial for McAvoy to have a full practice with his teammates Friday, but he is still able to work on his conditioning while on the ice with just a few teammates.
Change of pace
After games against heavier, grinding opponents Anaheim and St. Louis, the Bruins are expecting a change of pace against the Maple Leafs.
The Bruins have not played Toronto since a back-to-back series Nov. 10-11, when they lost both, one in overtime.
The Maple Leafs come to TD Garden having won five of their last six games, something the Bruins are mindful of as they play their third game in five days.
“It’s definitely a different test for us,’’ defenseman Torey Krug said. “This team is a fast team with a lot of speed and depth up front.
“To be honest, I don’t remember the lineup we had last time we played them, and I’m pretty sure it was completely different. The way that we’re rolling right now, the way we’re playing, we’re confident in every line and every matchup we get, so it will probably have a different feeling for sure.’’
A little extra push
Regular-season games in February don’t carry the same emphasis as playoff games in the spring, but game No. 50 is a significant one against the Maple Leafs, who are 3 points behind the Bruins in the Atlantic Division.
The Bruins have played four fewer games than Toronto, but losing the first three games of a four-game season series is not the ideal result.
“I think we’ve done a good job this year of staying focused and worrying about what we do,’’ forward Patrice Bergeron said. “The last game was a perfect example. We needed to fix our starts and we did that.
“Toronto is a tough opponent, an opponent we might see potentially [in the playoffs], so it’s different in that way.
“We’re trying to get away from them in the standings and push them down. That’s something we’re aware of, but we don’t want to put too much emphasis on that. We’ve done a good job of pushing each other to be better every day.’’
