Nick Foligno is not quite ready to play big boy hockey just yet. But where he is now compared to where he thought he might be after being injured in Calgary on February 28 had the Bruin veteran thrilled after he finished up another on-ice session on Saturday.
“I feel great. I think for me, everyone gets exited, myself included, being out there. It was a pretty significant injury that I had,” said Foligno. “It’s a credit to our medical staff, therapist Scott Waugh, that I’m a little further along than we were probably expecting. There’s no real timetable. It’s just a matter of me feeling as good as I need to feel. When that time comes, we’ll know when I’m ready. It’s hard, because you see me out there skating but I’m still working toward feeling as good as I can for the team when I want to come back and step in. That’s all we’re focused on. As much as I’d like to be out there, and dying to be out there, I’ve got to make sure that I’m ready to go for the long haul. But I give those guys credit. With the original diagnosis and where I am today, I’m pumped with the work everyone’s done to get me feeling this good.”
In the game against the Flames, Foligno took a hit from mammoth Calgary defenseman Nikita Zadorov and he appeared to catch an accidental knee in the right leg. Foligno would not detail exactly what the injury was – the B’s are in full playoff mode on that front – but he thought he might be in quite a bit of trouble.
“I thought it was originally just a charley horse. But then as I went down, I knew something was wrong, especially with how slow I was getting off the ice,” said Foligno. “That was unfortunate, that whole situation, because it wasn’t an ugly hit but it just hit me in the right spot and caused the trauma that it did. It sucked because I was feeling really good about my game and where I was at.”
In his first season with the B’s last year, Foligno battle through a multitude of injuries and was never quite right. That’s why he wants to make sure he’s a full-go when he puts the uniform on next.
“Thar’s what I fought with last year. Sometimes you come back and you’re maybe not 100 percent and then you don’t have that bank account, so to speak, when something nags you and it bounces you back out. So I just wanted to make sure when I’m ready to come back, I’m ready to go and almost champing at the bit to do that, especially with the situation that we’re in and the run we expect to go on as a group,” said Foligno. “I want to make sure that I’m ready and dialed in for the job that I have to do and the grind that it’s going to be. That’s where all this is laid out. We’ve been in constant dialogue. I probably surprise you guys because I look so good out there, but I know there’s still a little bit more to check off and be ready for this group. They deserve my best and I’ve been trying to give that to them all year. Just like anybody else coming back from injury, you’re expected to come back and contribute right away.”
His hope is that he’ll be ready for Game 1 of the playoffs.
“That’s what I’m shooting for. I’m probably going to try my hardest and throw some threats at some people,” joked Foligno, “but that will be have the conversation we’ve in the3 next week.”….
Taylor Hall was back in the lineup against the Devils as the B’s tried to tie the league record for wins in a season (62). He has been out since suffering a lower body injury in Vancouver in February 25 and he’s grateful to have some tune-up time before the playoffs.
“There’s only so much you can simulate in practices. It’s getting into a game-day routine and playing at night is so much different than just every morning, so it’s going to help for sure,” said Hall. “I’m not sure in Game 1 of the playoffs I’m going to feel totally 100 percent with my game, but it’s going to go a long way in helping that. And I feel like the fact that I’m fresh and I’ve been working out a lot, my conditioning is there. It’s just going to be the quick plays and speed of the game that hopefully I can adjust to quickly.”
Coach Jim Montgomery said Hall won’t play on he second half of the back-to-back in Philadelphia on Sunday…
Brad Marchand went into Saturday riding a 14-game goal-less funk. Montgomery would not only like him to shoot more, but simply threaten to shoot more effectively.
“I think his focus has not been on creating his own shot, it’s been on creating other people’s shot,” said Montgomery. “We’ve shown him stats where just his shots per game from last year to this year are down. It’s not by a huge amount, just by a little bit. But that little bit changed how much you are in attack mode.”
Montgomery said Marchand needs to point his shoulders toward the net in shot mode so the goalie at least has to honor the shot. That’s especially true on the power play.
“(If) the side number is pointed at the goalie, that’s not a good look on the power play,” said Montgomery…
Charlie McAvoy, who left Thursday’s game early after he crashed hard into the boards, was deemed ready to go for Saturday’s game.
“We just weren’t sure, but he obviously has progressed really well. Obviously, at this juncture, we would not be risking anything, so he’s 100 percent,” said Montgomery.