Boston Bruins captain Brad Marchand took part in pregame warmups and was expected to return to the lineup for Game 6 of the Eastern Conference second-round series Friday night against the visiting Florida Panthers.
The forward has been idle since receiving an upper-body injury after a hard check from Florida’s Sam Bennett in the first period of the Panthers’ 6-2 victory in Game 3. Marchand sat out Boston’s 3-2 loss in Game 4 and the Bruins’ 2-1 win in Game 5.
Marchand, 36, participated in Boston’s morning skate Friday and coach Jim Montgomery deemed him a game-time decision.
The Bruins trail 3-2 in the best-of-seven series.
Marchand has three goals and a team-leading seven assists for 10 points in 10 postseason games.
Marchand had 67 points (29 goals, 38 assists) in 82 games this season. He has 929 points (401 goals, 528 assists) in 1,029 career games since being selected by the Bruins in the third round of the 2006 NHL Draft.
–Field Level Media
