Brad Marchand feels better than he expected to feel after practicing with Bruins

BOSTON -- After undergoing surgeries on both of his hips this offseason, Brad Marchand set a long-term goal of returning to the Bruins around Thanksgiving. But might he be ready sooner?

The 34-year-old winger participated in Bruins practice on Sunday, and he did so without wearing a non-contact sweater. It was a bit of a surprise appearance, and his participation raised some antennae that perhaps he's on a faster track to returning to game action for Boston.

That, though, doesn't appear to be the case. Marchand told the media that he participated in Sunday's session because it was an "easy practice" for the rest of the team, one that didn't involve much contact or battling drills.

Still, Marchand came away very encouraged by the way he felt on the ice during and after the session.

"Little bit off. Yeah, a little bit off. I actually felt better than I thought I would out there," Marchand said. "It was more, I just think the hands need to catch up with having somebody pressuring you a little bit or trying to make decisions under timing, other than just kind of skating around with nobody pressuring you at all. So, that'll come back quick. I mean, that's just second nature."

Marchand underwent hip arthroscopy and labral repair on both hips at the end of May, with a stated recovery time of "approximately six months." Last month, Marchand confirmed that his target return date remained the end of November. Last week at Bruins media day, though, Marchand said he didn't want to put a strict timetable on his return.

For now, Marchand said he'll continue to take his schedule day by day, participating in some full practices when contact is limited, and continuing to skate separately with the recovering Charlie McAvoy away from the rest of the team.

"Yeah, I feel really good. Today was more of a mental victory than anything. It's been a long four months, and it was gonna be an easy practice for the guys, so I begged them enough to let me jump in there with them," Marchand said. "It gets tiring and old being out there by yourself. I mean, Chuck's out there, but you know, having a group of guys and being back with the team is a completely different feeling. So just with it being an easy day, I was able to get back out there and kind of do everything -- it was just skating stuff. Same stuff I was gonna do by myself. So it was good."

Marchand laughed when noting that he "put a couple by Sway," and he also laughed when asked if the team's medical staff decides what sessions he can and cannot participate in.

"They do off the ice. But it's hard for them to control when I'm out there," he said. 

Marchand scored 32 goals and had 48 assists in 70 games last season for the Bruins. He also had 11 points (four goals, seven assists) in seven postseason games. Since the start of the 2014-15 season, Marchand has the third-most goals in the NHL with 259, behind only Alex Ovechkin (358) and Auston Matthews (260).

Without Marchand and McAvoy the Bruins are off to a 2-0-0 start, having picked up a road win in Washington and a home win over Arizona.

For now, Marchand is remaining patient, but he's already feeling the positive effects of the surgeries he underwent to fix his overall health.

"I've dealt with a lot the last few years with my hips and groin and everything, so yeah the change has been incredible. It's night and day how I feel out there," he said. "I'm just really anxious to kind of get back to where I normally am and feel the way I do now without having any pain. It's a great feeling and kind of relieving. So I was little bit nervous more for how long it was gonna take and where I'd be kind of game-shape wise and where my timing would be when I came back. And it's a little bit off but I think in the long run it was by far the best decision, and with how I feel, I'm really, really happy I did it."