Bruins' Montgomery on Charlie McAvoy: 'He'll be playing within a week'

The Boston Bruins are on the precipice of getting their number one defenceman back.

Charlie McAvoy, who has been on long term injured reserve to begin the season following offseason shoulder surgery, could be ready for game action within the next few days, according to head coach Jim Montgomery.

While unwilling to speak on if he would draw into the Bruins' lineup Thursday night against the Calgary Flames, Montgomery sounded optimistic about the progress McAvoy has made.

“McAvoy is checking a lot of boxes. He's getting close,” Montgomery told reporters on Wednesday. “He'll be playing within a week, I think.”

The Bruins blueliner, who also spoke with the media after practice on Wednesday, was similarly evasive on his status for Thursday night, but said that his return would be in short order.

“Internally feeling good about where we are — and those are conversations that we have,” McAvoy said. “As far as check marks and things like that, (let's) just say, we feel really good so getting excited.”

Despite McAvoy’s absence, alongside other major injuries, the Bruins have gotten off to a flying start to their season. Their 11-2-0 record has them pacing the Atlantic Division, and second league-wide behind the Vegas Golden Knights.

“We talked about how we had to be sharp from the get-go,” Bruins winger David Pastrnak said on Tuesday. “We were, so obviously (we’ve) built confidence as the team is winning.”