Brad Marchand is returning to Bruins lineup Thursday night

BOSTON  -- Brad Marchand wasn't supposed to be back in the Bruins lineup until after Thanksgiving. But in a stunning turn of events, the winger is returning to the mix before Halloween.

Marchand is set to make his 2022-23 debut Thursday night when the Bruins host the Detroit Red Wings, Boston head coach Jim Montgomery announced Thursday morning.

"We have exciting news. No. 63 is going to play tonight," Montgomery said.

That thud you just heard was the sound of jaws hitting the floor everywhere around the Boston area.

Marchand said this has been the plan all along, but he and the training staff kept it quiet just in case there were any setbacks during his rehab. But as soon as he found out that he would need surgery, he was adamant that he would be back quicker than the original timeline.

"As soon as it came up I was going to have the surgery and they said it was going to be the end of November, I said 'It's not going to be the end of November,'" Marchand relayed with a smile Thursday morning. "They put a game plan in place where they could expedite it a bit, but in a safe manner."

The Boston offense has been scorching to start the season, and now the B's are getting last year's leading points man back in the mix. Marchand, who underwent hip arthroscopy and labral repair on both hips at the end of May, will take his regular spot with Patrice Bergeron and Jake DeBrusk on Boston's first line against the Red Wings, Montgomery announced Thursday.

Marchand said he'll keep expectations tempered, and doesn't want to try to do too much in his first game back. 

"It's a regular season game. You usually have three or four [exhibition games] to get ready for the season to go in, feel it out and make some mistakes, but that isn't the case tonight," he said. "It's about going in and making sure I'm not a liability or getting in the guys' way. They're rolling. It's keeping it simple, keeping shifts short, and not trying to do too much or get fancy."

Marchand led Boston with 80 points (32 goals, 48 assists) in his 70 games last season. He added another 11 points (four goals, seven assists) in seven postseason games. He's led the Bruins in points in each of the last two seasons.

Good things tend to happen for the Bruins when Marchand is on the ice. Since the start of the 2014-15 season, he owns the third-most goals in the NHL with 259, trailing only Alex Ovechkin (358) and Auston Matthews (260).

The Bruins are off to a 6-1-0 start to the season, and their 12 points on the year are tied with the Vegas Golden Knights for the most in the NHL.

"It's tough to sit out, but it definitely made it easier with the guys winning," Marchand said Thursday. "I have to thank them for that, because it definitely made it easier on me."