Pastrnak Back at Practice, Travels with Team

BOSTON - David Pastrnak and Kevan Miller made a deal.
With both sidelined by injuries in recent weeks, they decided to make a pact and grow out their beards until they return. Pastrnak's is far longer than he would prefer, particularly before the start of the postseason.
But a fresh shave could be coming in the very near future.
Pastrnak was a full participant in practice on Monday for the first time since thumb surgery early last month and could be back in the lineup as early as Tuesday night when the Bruins visit the New York Islanders.

"Not saying that he will [play], but he'll make that decision in conjunction with the medical staff as early as [Tuesday] after morning skate," said Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy. "I would assume he'll be a game-time decision…I suspect if he doesn't play [Tuesday] that Thursday will be a real good day."
Boston's All-Star winger has missed the last 16 games after a fall following a team sponsorship dinner on Feb. 10 left him with a busted left thumb, which required surgery to repair. Pastrnak resumed skating roughly 10 days after the procedure, but did not do so with a stick until early March.
"It's a lot of fun, obviously, to be back on the ice with the guys. We kind of recognize that these guys are your family and friends, so it's really good to be back," said Pastrnak, who led the team with 31 goals (he's still tied with Brad Marchand) and 66 points at the time of his injury.
"It felt good. It was nice to get shots, as you could see. Good shots and one-timers and no pain, so that's very good. I'm happy I'm moving forward."

The 22-year-old has been wearing a splint on the hand since having his cast removed about two weeks ago and will do so for the foreseeable future. So far, Pastrnak says, the apparatus has not affected him negatively.
"There's a thousand guys playing with knee braces or whatever, so you have to get used to it. I would say it feels really good now," said Pastrnak, who also had to make his left glove a bit bigger. "It's been a couple of weeks now I'm skating and handling a puck with it, so it feels pretty good, to be honest. It doesn't really affect me at shooting… just a little bit stickhandling."
If there was a silver lining from the injury, it was that Pastrnak's lower body was not affected, allowing him to keep his legs fresh. Nevertheless, Pastrnak realizes there will be an adjustment period as he gets his game back up to speed.
"I've been working really hard to get ready for that," said Pastrnak. "We'll see. I haven't been hurt for a while, so I don't know how I'm going to feel the first game back. A little nervous, obviously, but just try to stay positive and be ready for anything."
When Pastrnak does return, he'll have some familiar faces by his side. Cassidy confirmed on Monday that Pastrnak will be back with Marchand and Patrice Bergeron as Boston's top-line right winger.
"That's where he's going to start," said Cassidy. "It's a comfort level for him. And then we'll see. Let's see how [Marcus] Johansson progresses. Assuming we stay healthy, he may go with [David] Krejci. I liked [Charlie] Coyle, Krejci, and [Jake] DeBrusk the other night. I thought they were very good.
"We know Charlie probably has to fill our third-line center role, but we're taking it one game at a time until we get all of the pieces together."
During his first meeting with the media since the injury, Pastrnak also recalled the events that led to his fall, confirming that he slipped coming out of a team sponsorship event. Pastrnak added that he tried to catch himself using the hand, which caused all of his weight to come down upon it.
"I'm leftie, so I usually always put my left hand first, and I kind of put all my weight on it," said Pastrnak. "Maybe if that happened when I was 18 with 160 pounds that wouldn't hurt, but now I'm 190, so [it] kind of hurt."

Pastrnak said he knew immediately that something could be wrong.
"I obviously had a feeling that it didn't feel right as soon as I got up. It kind of felt irregular," said Pastrnak. "There were a couple guys [there], obviously. They saw it. It didn't look bad, so we all thought I was going to be all right, but obviously I felt it after."
As the team's leading scorer and lone All-Star this season, Pastrnak said he felt like he let his teammates down.
"It's a tough time," said Pastrnak. "Obviously, it's not an injury that happened on the ice, so I took full responsibility for it, and that's what hurt me most. Could I avoid it? You know, obviously, I wish, but things happen…the first couple of weeks were tough."
The Bruins, however, have stepped up in Pastrnak's absence, posting a 12-3-1 record without their No. 1 right winger. And Pastrnak said all of that success certainly helped him to stay positive while he was away from the team.
"Last year, I was fortunate enough to be healthy the whole year, so obviously it was a little tough at the beginning," said Pastrnak. "You want to be out there with the guys. The only thing that makes it better is that they were doing great and obviously playing unbelievable hockey, so that was fun to watch."

Practice Notes

• Boston's other injured players also appear to be on the mend. Matt Grzelcyk (arm), Marcus Johansson (lung contusion), Torey Krug (concussion), and Kevan Miller (upper-body) all skated before Monday's practice with skating and skills coach Kim Brandvold.
• Per Cassidy, Krug is "feeling much better" and traveled with the team to Long Island. He added that Krug, Grzelcyk, and Johansson could all play at some point on the road trip. Miller, meanwhile, is unlikely to join the team.
• Zdeno Chara celebrated his 42nd birthday on Monday and his teammates made sure to mark the occasion. "The fellas got him a nice cake," said Cassidy. "We sang him Happy Birthday right in this room this morning. I thought it was great, good for them…he probably won't eat it. I did because I think it's bad luck if you don't. I enjoyed it."
• Tuukka Rask will start in goal against the Islanders.