Bruins’ Nick Foligno ‘shooting for’ a return during first round of Stanley Cup Playoffs
"I'm going to try my hardest and probably throw some threats at some people if not."
Unlike Taylor Hall, Nick Foligno will likely not take to the ice for any of the Bruins’ final regular-season games.
But the veteran forward isn’t ruling out a return when the calendar flips to the postseason in the coming weeks.
“I hope so. That’s what I’m shooting for,” Foligno said Saturday of potentially playing in Boston’s first-round series. “I’d love to give you a timeline. I don’t know. I’m going to try my hardest and probably throw some threats at some people if not. But that’ll be kind of the conversation we have in the next week or so.”
Considering where the 35-year-old forward was a little over a month ago, he’ll welcome the murky timeline he’s currently adhering to.
During Boston’s overtime win over the Flames back on Feb. 28, Foligno exited the game early after colliding into the boards with 6-foot-6, 248-pound Nikita Zadorov. Foligno dropped to the ice after clanging knees with the Calgary blueliner, eventually hobbling down the tunnel.
“I thought originally it was just a charley horse,” Foligno said of the injury, adding: “And then I knew as I kind of went down that something was wrong. Especially with how slow I was getting off the ice.
“So yeah, that was unfortunate in the whole situation, because it wasn’t an ugly hit. It just hit me in the right spot and caused the trauma it did. So it sucked because I felt like I was feeling really good about my game and where we were at.”
The Bruins have held their own during Foligno’s absence, posting a 14-4-0 record since the power forward landed on the shelf.
The strong play of fourth-line reserves like Jakub Lauko have kept Boston’s checking line humming along. But Foligno’s veteran presence, physicality and two-way acumen makes him an asset that Boston will welcome back when he’s given the green light.
Foligno has taken part in Bruins practices for weeks while donning a red, non-contact sweater. But he isn’t going to push his rehab process beyond whatever Boston’s medical staff has mapped out for him.
“I think that’s what I fought with last year,” Foligno said of avoiding re-injury. “I think sometimes you come back and you’re maybe not 100% and then you don’t have that bank account, so to speak, when something nags you and it just kind of bounces you back out. So I just want to make sure that when I’m ready to come back, I’m ready to go and almost chomping at the bit to do that.
“And especially the situation we’re in with the run we expect to go on as a group here. I mean, I want to make sure that I’m ready and dialed in for the job I have to do and the grind that it’s going to be. … They deserve my best. I’ve tried to give that to them all year. And just like any other guy that’s coming back from injury, we’re expected to come in and contribute right away. And that’s what I want to make sure I do and that I don’t miss a step when I do it.”
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