Captain Patrice Bergeron joined his Boston Bruins teammates for practice Tuesday on the eve of the club's first chance to eliminate the Florida Panthers from the playoffs.
Bergeron left the season finale against the Montreal Canadiens with an injury and has not yet played in the Panther series. Head coach Jim Montgomery had previously said Bergeron was "likely" to return to the lineup in Game 5, but general manager Don Sweeney was more vague when speaking Tuesday.
"We'll gauge his progression and go from there," Sweeney said. "He's day to day and we'll see how he is when he integrates into other guys on the ice besides just himself."
Bergeron skated on the top line with Tyler Bertuzzi and Brad Marchand during practice. Afterwards, he said he'll wait until Wednesday to see how he feels but that he expects to play in Game 5.
Meanwhile, centre David Krejci will miss Game 5 but could be an option if the series goes beyond that. He missed both Games 3 and 4 with an undisclosed injury and skated on his own before practice Tuesday.
Two injured Florida Panthers players returned to practice Tuesday, one day before the club attempts to extend their season in Game 5 against the Bruins.
Star defenceman Aaron Ekblad and scoring-winger Anthony Duclair were full participants in practice. Ekblad had skated with a non-contact jersey Monday but was not wearing it Tuesday.
Ekblad was forced to leave Game 3 with an undisclosed injury and missed Game 4. Duclair also missed Game 4 with an undisclosed injury. After the practice head coach Paul Maurice confirmed both players would play in Game 5.
Joe Pavelski re-joined the Dallas Stars for practice on Tuesday but is not expected to play in Game 5 against the Wild.
Pavelski suffered a concussion after a hard hit from Matt Dumba in Game 1 and has been unavailable ever since.
He did not take line rushes during the practice but head coach Pete Deboer said it was a big milestone that he was able to return to the ice this week.
The Lightning have ruled out defenceman Erik Cernak for Game 5, according to Sportsnet's Luke Fox.
Cernak was injured by an illegal hit from Toronto's Michael Bunting in Game 1 of Tampa's first-round series with the Maple Leafs. Bunting was suspended three games by the NHL for the play, while Cernak has not played since.
The Maple Leafs lead that series 3-1 after a dramatic overtime win on Monday night. Game 5 is slated for Thursday night in Toronto (7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT on Sportsnet).
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