Brad Marchand skates for first time since surgery, hopes to be back in Bruins lineup by end of November

BOSTON -- Brad Marchand is still a long way from rejoining the Bruins lineup. But the winger took an important first step on Friday, hitting the ice for some light skating at Warrior Ice Arena.

Under the watchful eye of the Bruins training staff, Marchand skated for the first time Friday since undergoing offseason hip surgery four months ago. He said Thursday that he would be taking things slow, and that was certainly the case on Friday. 

For the most part, it looked like Marchand was going in slow motion. That was all by design.

And he wasn't the only one on the ice. Defenseman Charlie McAvoy, who underwent left shoulder surgery in the offseason and is on similar timeline as Marchand, was also on the ice going through drills.

It will be a while until either of them partake in any game action. Marchand said on Thursday, while at the Boston Bruins Foundation Golf Tournament at Pinehills Golf Club in Plymouth, that he's hoping to make a return shortly after Thanksgiving.

"I think it's around there, the end of the month -- the last few days of November is kind of the target date," said the 34-year-old, via Bruins.com. "It's about six months, around there."

Marchand has been Boston's leading scorer in each of the last two seasons. In 2021-22, he scored 32 goals and dished out 48 assists over 70 games to finish the season with 80 points.