McQuaid Nearing Return; Possible Against Columbus

BOSTON - Bruins defenseman Adam McQuaid is nearing full health, as he skated with the team on Sunday morning at Warrior Ice Arena. McQuaid suffered a broken fibula when he blocked a shot in the Bruins 6-3 victory over the Vancouver Canucks on October 19. McQuaid was expected to miss eight weeks with the injury, and it appears McQuaid is a possibility to return as soon Monday against Columbus, pending further evaluation from team doctors.
"I'd like to get back as soon as I can obviously," said McQuaid. "I've missed a lot of time here, but it's a process… I'll probably have a better idea probably tomorrow morning."

"I don't know if Monday he'll be cleared, but he is close," added head coach Bruce Cassidy. "He is getting close. He has practiced with us, so it is imminent for him. I just don't want to pinpoint an exact date."

The return of McQuaid will give the Bruins seven healthy defensemen on the roster, providing Cassidy plenty of options for his defensive unit.
"That's an internal discussion that we're starting to have, and then you can play seven D," said Cassidy. "It could be a different one every night - might play six D one night and seven the next. Again, it will create competition - good competition."
Regardless of whether McQuaid is back in the lineup on Monday against Columbus, the rugged defenseman is excited to his return is near.
"I'm excited about where I'm at and about the possibility here going forward," said McQuaid. "Hopefully when I get back in the lineup, whenever that is, I'll be ready to go. It's been fun to watch the guys and I want to get back in and be a part of a winning hockey team again."

DeBrusk Slumping

Jake DeBrusk has experienced both the success and the struggles that are to be expected of a rookie at the NHL level. After being held out of the lineup as a healthy-scratch earlier in the season, DeBrusk caught fire, scoring six points in a five game stretch in November.
After an upper-body injury forced the rookie to miss three games, he has been unable to find the same success. DeBrusk has only two points (1-1-2) in his previous six contests. Midway through the second period against the Rangers, Cassidy elected to keep DeBrusk on the bench for the remainder of the game. DeBrusk played a season-low 7:43.
"I didn't think he was hard enough on the puck," said Cassidy. "He lost some battles on the walls, in the middle of the ice. By my count, he had probably two backhand turnovers... it is a learning curve. I think all of the guys have gone through it.
"When he gets his chance again, he has got to play with his forecheck, and there were some opportunities to do that that didn't happen. So, we just decided to go a different route."
DeBrusk recognized the areas of his game that need improvement.
"It's one of those things that you never want to have happen, but I understood why," said DeBrusk. "I think it was just being hard on pucks… [I'm] looking to do anything I can to find that energy and get back to my game that I was a week a ago."

Lineup Tweaks Possible

When the Bruins take the ice against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Monday night at TD Garden, there is the possibility of minor changes to the lineup.
"We'll go with the same D," said Cassidy. "The forward group we'd have to look at with Anders [Bjork]."
Bjork was a healthy scratch against the New York Rangers on Saturday. The Wisconsin native has been held to just one point in his previous five games. Ryan Spooner replaced Bjork alongside David Krejci on the Bruins second line. Whether Bjork returns to the lineup is yet to be decided.
"We sat him a game; We've talked about how we want to handle that," said Cassidy. "We'll have a conversation today or tomorrow morning about that. So, I wouldn't say the forward group would be the same for sure."

Wait, There's More

• Peter Cehlarik, who suffered a lower body injury against Pittsburgh on Nov. 24, again skated at Warrior Ice Arena on Sunday as he gets closer to returning to health. He was placed on injured reserve shortly after his injury and is to be re-evaluated after four weeks of rehabilitation.
• The Bruins will play in back-to-back games again this week, as they are scheduled to play the Columbus Blue Jackets at TD Garden on Monday, before traveling to Buffalo to take on the Sabres on Tuesday. The Blue Jackets are coming off 2-1 a loss to the Carolina Hurricanes, and currenty sit third in the Metropolitan division with 41 points.
• David Pastrnak and Brad Marchand are both currently riding career-long point streaks. Pastrnak has notched a point in 11 consecutive contests (5-8-13), tying the previous career high he set last season. Marchand has found the scoresheet in eight games in a row (5-7-12), which is the longest such streak of his career.