BOSTON -- The waiting is over. After missing the first four team skates of training camp, David Pastrnak joined the Boston Bruins at practice on Monday morning in Brighton.
The Bruins always displayed Pastrnak's absence as precautionary, and now that he's back, it's safe to say it truly was. Bruins' Head Coach Marco Sturm revealed last week that Pastrnak's tendinitis in his knee caused the absence.
The return of Pastrnak bumped Viktor Arvidsson off the Bruins' presumptive top line, reuniting Boston's superstar with Elias Lindholm and Morgan Geekie. In last night's preseason game, Geekie scored with a wicked slapper after Lindholm jostled a loose puck to Geekie.
As a whole, the lines and groups were mixed a bit more today, a trend that's only expected to continue this week. After tomorrow night's game at Madison Square Garden against the New York Rangers, the Bruins are scheduled for an off day on Wednesday.
By this time next week, the Bruins will be down to one main group practicing. Having Pastrnak back well in advance of that will benefit Pastrnak and the Bruins as they work out their forward lines for the 2025-26 campaign.