Dennis Seidenberg returns to the ice, Bruins 'not counting on' playoff return
When Boston Bruins defenseman Dennis Seidenberg underwent surgery to repair a tear in both his ACL and MCL sustained in late December, he was originally ruled out for the season.
On Tuesday, Seidenberg returned to the ice for a short skate before Bruins practice. Reportedly he looked pretty good during his on-ice session:
One good sign from Seidenberg's skate today: took pucks along the wall, moved laterally along blueline. Probably the slowest thing he did
— DJ Bean (@DJ_Bean) April 15, 2014
Despite returning to the ice and recent optimistic statements on his health status from Bruins management, the club doesn't expect the burly German defender to return to game action shortly. "We're not counting on Dennis to be back," Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli said on Tuesday. "We're going to be very cautious with his injury. He has been skating, but that's all I can say on it. It really hasn't changed."
In the absence of Seidenberg and veteran defender Adam McQuaid, the Bruins have leaned heavily on inexperienced defenders like Kevan Miller, Matt Bartkowski, and Dougie Hamilton. Chiarelli expressed confidence in his young defenders, singling out their recent performance as a reason to tread lightly with getting McQuaid and Seidenberg back into the lineup. "We've been doing OK with the D we have," Chiarelli said. "So we're going to be cautious."