Brad Marchand has had a habit of recovering from injuries quicker than anticipated, and it looks like this year will be no different.
When Marchand underwent hip arthroscopy and labral repair procedures on both hips back on May 27, he was given a recovery time of approximately six months, which would be the end of November.
A full month before then, Marchand was practicing in his regular spot on Patrice Bergeron's left wing, in a regular practice jersey, on Wednesday. He took reps on the top power-play unit as well, according to Steve Conroy of the Boston Herald.
While Marchand has been out of his non-contact jersey for a week, he had only lined up with the team's extra forwards. Skating with the top line again is a notable change.
Coach Jim Montgomery said that Marchand isn't quite ready to play in a game yet, but revealed that Marchand is in fact ahead of schedule.
"I don't expect him to play [Thursday]. He's ahead of schedule. He's gonna play before Thanksgiving," Montgomery said.
Montgomery went on to say that Marchand won't travel to Columbus on Friday. That leaves a three-and-a-half week window from the start of November next week to Thanksgiving on Nov. 24 during which Marchand could return.
Marchand said he feels good and is pushing to return as soon as he can, but that he also wants to continue to be smart about it and not push himself so hard that he risks a setback.
"I can see my timing and stuff is still off, but definitely every day getting closer," Marchand said.
