Charlie McAvoy moves up to Bruins' top defensive pairing at Wednesday's practice

BOSTON -- The return of Charlie McAvoy is nearly upon us. The Bruins defenseman was bumped up to Boston's top defensive pairing at Wednesday's practice, a clear sign that McAvoy is close to returning to game action.

The Bruins haven't missed their No. 1 defenseman too much over the first 13 games of the season, going 11-2-0 while allowing just 31 goals thus far. But getting McAvoy back atop their blue line alongside Hampus Lindholm will only make the Bruins stronger.

McAvoy said that he was feeling great after Wednesday's practice, but added that he and the team are taking things one day at a time. Boston head coach Jim Montgomery would only say that McAvoy was getting close.

"McAvoy is checking a lot of boxes. He's getting close," said Montgomery. "He'll be playing within a week, I think."

Boston's next game is at home against Calgary on Thursday night. Montgomery would not commit to McAvoy being back in the lineup for that tilt. 

"I'm not going to confirm or deny that, because there's boxes left to be checked," he said.

McAvoy was sidelined to start the season after undergoing offseason shoulder surgery. He was placed on long-term IR, so the Bruins will have to make a move when McAvoy returns to get him under the salary cap. It could be as simple as moving Derek Forbort to long-term IR, with the defenseman expected to miss 4-6 weeks with a finger injury.

Last season, McAvoy led all Bruins players at plus-31 while averaging 24:39 minutes on the ice. He led all Boston defensemen with 56 points, scoring 10 goals while dishing out 46 assists.

UPDATE: A report indicates that McAvoy is indeed expected to make his season debut on Thursday night.