Maroon Finally Practices With Bruins Teammates

New Boston Bruins winger Pat Maroon hasn’t played in a game since Jan. 27, but he appears to be closing in on a return to game action.

The 6-foot-3, 234-pound winger has been on injured reserve since undergoing back surgery in early February and had resumed skating just prior to being acquired by the Boston Bruins at the March 8 NHL Trade Deadline. When Maroon arrived in Boston, the expectation was that he would be ready to play on or around April 8, and it appears ‘The Big Rig’ is still on target, maybe even ahead of schedule.

On Monday, Pat Maroon took a big step towards returning as he finally practiced with his new teammates.

“It felt good,” Maroon said after his first Bruins practice. “It was a little bit lonely skating by myself, but it feels good to get back with the guys. …doing some battle drills and trying to get up to speed with those guys. So, I’m certainly excited to feel a part of it and just excited to be back. I feel like I’m close, so you know it’s a good sign when you’re practicing with the team.

“I just think, for me, I’ve just got to keep going. I’ve been out for almost 12 weeks, so I think just getting your conditioning back, getting up to speed with the group, getting some line rushes, getting some touches. Because it’s a completely different game when you’re just skating by yourself, and then you’re going into battles and doing that other stuff. So, just gotta stay up to par with that and get up to speed with them and hopefully be back soon.”

Maroon said that watching his new teammates from afar – especially during the physical and dramatic games against the Florida Panthers (March 27), and against his former team, the Tampa Bay Lightning (March 28), has him chomping at the bit to get back into some games before the playoffs.

“Trust me, I’m really excited,” Maroon said. “I can’t wait. Especially watching the Florida and Tampa games. It makes you just want to go out there and battle with the boys and go out there, so I’m really looking forward to it.”

After practice, Boston Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery was asked if he could provide a target date yet for Maroon’s return.

When he first got here, we said week to week. We knew it was going to be a couple of weeks,” Montgomery told the media before he and his team headed south to Nashville to play the Predators on Tuesday night.

“Now it really is week to week. As he hits more of the steps and milestones, it’ll become day-to-day.”