WILMINGTON — Marc Savard held a press conference at the Bruins practice facility, Ristuccia Arena, on Wednesday afternoon after his first full practice since being cleared by doctors to rejoin the team after missing the end of the regular season and the quarterfinals playoff series against the Sabres. Savard touched on a variety of topics, from his role on the team in the upcoming conference semifinal series and his thoughts about getting back at the Penguins, the team he sustained his concussion against.

Here is the transcript of the press conference:

On how he feels:

I am feeling great, I am excited. Obviously I am really happy about the way the guys played and you know I was able to get a couple more days right now. So, it was a good plan all along.

On his conditioning to this point:

Today was my last kind of test. Kind of felt like the Boston Marathon on Heartbreak Hill so they made it pretty tough today but I got through it and  they made it pretty hard in practice too and I gave it everything I had. It was a good test and yeah, I am feeling great and really excited to get the opportunity to play in the playoffs again.

On his role:

“I imagine that I will be eased in, for sure. I probably won’t be getting the 19 or 20 minutes that I usually get right off the top, but we’ll see how things go. I am excited and I am going to play with [Sobotka] and [Ryder], it looks like. I love the way those guys have been playing in the playoffs, especially [Sobotka], the way he has been going, so I am excited to play between those guys and create some results to help the team.”

Yeah, I think the first couple of days I was out there I was like, ‘Jesus, this is going to take awhile.’ I am not going to be a savior or anything and go out, you know, and get three goals in the first game. I would like to but I don’t think that it is going to happen.

I am just going to try and work myself in. Just keep on doing what the guys have been doing and be a part of the team and I don’t think it will be a problem. I look at it like my first playoffs here when, with eight games left, I broke my back. You know, I eased myself in and I ended up having a pretty good playoffs even though we didn’t get where we wanted to go but I felt good. I feel it is the same situation and I am going to go out there and work hard for no matter how many minutes I play and that is the thing. I am sure that I will see power-play time and I would like to contribute there also.

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WILMINGTON — The question as to which line Marc Savard would play on upon his return from a Grade 2 concussion has been at least partially answered from the practice lines coach Claude Julien put out at Ristuccia Arena on Wednesday morning. Savard was wearing a white sweater along with Vladimir Sobotka and Michael Ryder. From these initial lines it looks like Sobotka has been taken from the center position to the wing with Savard, although, as always, lines are subject to change.

Patrice Bergeron was wearing yellow along with Mark Recchi and Marco Sturm while David Krejci was in gray with Milan Lucic and Miroslav Satan. The brick-colored sweaters were occupied by Blake Wheeler, Steve Begin, Daniel Paille, Trent Whitfield, Brad Marchand and Shawn Thornton. The red sweater represents a line demotion for Wheeler, who registered two assists in Game 2 of the quarterfinals against the Sabres and was minus-1 in the six games. The groupings among the red have Begin with Wheeler and Paille and Whitfield, Marchand and Thornton occupying what could be called a “fifth” line.

The defensive pairings have Zdeno Chara with Johnny Boychuk, Matt Hunwick with Dennis Wideman, Andrew Ference with Adam McQuaid and Jeffrey Penner with Andrew Bodnarchuk. Tim Thomas and Tuukka Rask are on the ice while Dany Sabourin is still with the team as a third goaltender.

Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli announced in a conference call Tuesday morning that injured Bruins center Marc Savard has been cleared to play and will be available to the team in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. The center sustained a Grade 2 concussion on March 7 after a hit from the Penguins’ Matt Cooke and was carted from the ice. Savard was cleared on Monday afternoon by an independent neuro-physician and was checked by Bruins team doctors. Savard passed his final neuropsychological exam on Monday and will have a couple of days of practice with the team before the next round of the playoffs begin later this week.

“First I’d like to announce that Marc Savard has been cleared to play,” Chiarelli said. “I’ll leave it up to Claude [Julien] as far as putting the lines together and who plays and who doesn’t play, but Marc is ready to go, and we’ll see how his conditioning goes. But I know from talking to him he’s very anxious to play.”

Chiarelli likened the return of Savard to a trade-deadline acquisition.

“He is an elite player and he has been chomping at the bit to play,” Chiarelli said. “The fact that we were able to clinch and give him some time to get acclimated and a little practice is going to be very beneficial to Savvy and to the team, and, you know, obviously he’s a terrific offensive player. You have seen his performances in playoffs, he really works on the two-way side of his game during the playoffs, and it is like a trade-deadline acquisition and we are adding, obviously, a very good player for the next series.”

Chiarelli said he was not surprised by the turnaround that Savard made in coming back from such a severe concussion. He said there was a distinct difference between Savard and Patrice Bergeron, who sustained a Grade 3 concussion on Oct. 27, 2007, when he was hit from behind by Philadelphia’s Randy Jones. Bergeron missed the the rest of the 2007-08 season and was not symptom-free until June 2008. By comparison, Savard only has missed a little more than a month and a half.

“I use Patrice as a reference point when I saw Patrice, and this is my layman’s analysis, when I saw Patrice after his concussion and when I saw [Savard] after his, there was a big difference,” Chiarelli said. “Obviously they were both very severe, but as I saw [Savard] recuperate, a lot of things happened more quickly than it did for Patrice. There was some doubt at some points in time because he still had that glazed look, but then these things turn, they don’t recover in the same way as a torn ligament or separated shoulder. They turn quickly, and you see that happened with Marc and you could see a real change. So, when I saw that, I had a pretty good idea that he would be back and we could stretch it out.”

WILMINGTON — The Bruins had a meeting and workout day at Ristuccia Arena on Thursday before heading to Buffalo for Game 5 on Friday night. Players who did not play in Wednesday’s double overtime Game 4 worked out on the ice, including Marc Savard as he makes his way back from a Grade 2 concussion.

“Same as normal, skated with the guys a little bit and tomorrow I will be skating with the guys again so it is positive, for sure,” Savard said.

Savard had a doctor’s appointment this morning to determine if he was ready for contact but said in the locker room that he had not heard back from about his status. Regardless, Savard will not be taking many hits when he does return to the full team practice as battle drills are typically suspended in the playoffs to keep players as fresh as possible.

“I hope to know this afternoon. There is not going to be much bumping in practice from here on in,” Savard said. “You know, tomorrow I think I am cleared to start doing some of that stuff. Some little bumps and stuff and gradually getting back into it.”

An interesting question has arisen with the daily Savard Watch — which center gets bumped from the rotation in Savard’s eventual return? It probably will not be against Buffalo but if the Bruins can put away the Sabres the reality that Boston has five good centers for four spots.

Bergeron and David Krejci are going to continue to man their respective lines. Vladimir Sobotka has been a spark plugged since getting regular time starting at the beginning of March and has really helped the games of the struggling Blake Wheeler and Michael Ryder since he was paired with them in the final weeks of the regular season. With Savard coming back the natural thing would be to put Sobotka on the fourth line and sit either Steve Begin or Shawn Thornton. If Thornton sits, which would be likely in that situation, Begin would go to the wing and Sobotka would be the center but the fourth line would mean reduced minutes for the center and Boston benefits from having him on the ice.

It is a good problem to have but one that will need to be addressed when (if) Savard comes back.

Outside of Savard, there was not much else cooking around the Bruins in Wilmington. A couple meetings and a few players wandering in and out of the dressing room. Patrice Bergeron and Zdeno Chara both gave the “one game at a time” routine and how hard it will be to close out the Sabres in Game 5 at HSBC Arena.

“It is always tough to play in Buffalo. The fans really get into it and they are really going to be going hard, we all know that so we have to be focusing on our game and be ready,” Chara said.

Boston was on the opposite end of the three games to one playoff spectrum last year after winning the first and dropping the next three to Carolina in the conference.

“We’ve been in their situation before so we know how hard it is to win that fourth game,” Chara said.

Bruins forward Mark Recchi, one of the heroes of Monday night’s Game 3 victory over the Sabres, joined the Dale & Holley show Tuesday afternoon. Recchi said teammate Marc Savard has been skating longer than the two days that the media found out about this week, and he’s hopeful Savard will return to action soon.

“He actually texted me last week and told me he was actually sneaking on the ice, so I knew it,” Recchi said. “He swore my secrecy, so I wasn’t allowed to to say it. I didn’t even tell any of my teammates. So, I knew he was getting eager and feeling good. It’s great to see him out there. He’s had a couple of hard days of practice [on his own]. I don’t think he likes being out there by himself right now, but hopefully we’ll see him in practice here soon and get him back in the lineup.”

Asked if he thought Savard might return by the end of the Sabres series, Recchi said: “I’m not sure. We’re the last guys to hear when he’s going to play. Like I said, he’s been practicing before us, and he hasn’t been there after. I’m not really sure. The longer it goes, obviously the chances get better, because he is feeling good and he is skating. By the end of this week he’ll have a full week of skating in. So, who knows? … Obviously, it’s going to come down the coach as well, if things are going well, when do you put him in, when’s the right time to do it? Obviously, he’s a tremendous player, and it would be a big boost getting him back.”

As for his own future, Recchi said he feels like he still has some hockey left in his 42-year-old body. “I still love the game, I still love the practice, I still love everything about it, and being in the dressing room with the guys,” Recchi said. “So, at the end of the season I’ll sit down. Obviously, I think I can still play and still help. It’s just a matter of figuring out everything at the end of the year and figuring out what’s best for me and my family.”

Recchi was asked about rookie goaltender Tuukka Rask, who has developed into a young star. Said Recchi: ”He’s right there with all them. This kid is a world-class goalie. His composure for a 22, 23-year-old is incredible. … He made the big saves all year when we needed them, and he continues to do it.”

Recchi said Rask does not get taken out of his game even when he allows a goal. “It doesn’t faze him one bit,” Recchi said. “He’s a very, very competitive kid. He knows, he gets upset at himself, but he’s able to put it aside. … Game 2 in Buffalo, he battled like a bugger. You don’t see it too often, but you could see he was fighting it a little bit, he was fighting the puck. But when a goalie competes as hard as he does and fights it and battles it and is able to make the big saves really when you don’t feel great is a great sign for a young goalie. He came out and we had a great win. And then he was awesome again [Monday] night.”

Recchi reflected on the Bruins’ revenge game against the Penguins March 18 when the fans booed the B’s off the ice. “We were kind of disappointed in the way we played because we came out of that seven-game trip just before that playing great hockey and we really seemed to get more consistent,” Recchi said. “We found a way to be a tougher team to play against every night and a team that is committed to being better. That’s why we went on that good stretch — 8-3-1 in our last 12 games or whatever — to get ourselves in a good position for the playoffs.”

To hear the interview, click on the Dale & Holley audio on demand page.

WILMINGTON — Bruins center Marc Savard skated at the Bruins’ Ristuccia Arena practice facility on Tuesday morning for the second time in two days since sustaining a Grade 2 concussion on March 7. He was put through exercises by strength and conditioning coach John Whitesides that included sprints up and down the ice and stopping and starting between the blue lines. For Savard, so far, so good.

“Just getting my wind back still but head wise everything is clear. Today I have that neuro-psych test and that is the last step, I guess,” Savard said.

The neuro-psych evaluation is one that athletes or anybody coming back from trauma to the head has to take to judge the status of a patient’s treatment.

From the Center for Cognitive Medicine:

“A neuropsychological evaluation provides comprehensive assessment of patients in whom impairments of cognitive or neuropsychiatric functioning are evident or suspected. Assessment involves a systematic evaluation of higher cognitive abilities in order to identify possible problems with brain functioning, help lead to a diagnosis, define strengths and weaknesses, and make treatment recommendations.”

Savard said he skated for 40 minutes and that Tuesday was better than Monday.

“I did some starts and stops today, which I didn’t do yesterday, and felt pretty good,” Savard said.

So the question everybody is dying to know the answer to but realistically has no definite is — will Savard come back during the Buffalo series?

“That is always the hope that you keep, but I said it before that you’ve got to be realistic here, and when I am 100 percent condition wise and mentally positive that I can do this, you know, I will be ready to go. But until then, I am not going to play the game that I play,” Savard said.

Bruins’ center Marc Savard skated at TD Garden Monday morning for the first time since sustaining a Grade 2 concussion after a hit from Pittsburgh’s Matt Cooke on March 7. Savard said that he cannot tell for sure when he will be able to return from the injury but he was much more animated than the previous times he has met with the media since the hit. He said that he has regained the weight he lost after the injury and has been able to do a little golf putting for exercise in the last week or so.

Here is the transcript from Savard’s morning press conference courtesy of the Boston Bruins media relations department:

On how long he skated this morning and what types of workouts he has been doing:

Well, today I was there for thirty minutes I think — first time I skated and I feel great. I felt great. Biggest thing was the last seven days, I had great days, you know. To be honest with you, you know, I talked to the doctor and I said, ‘Can I get out and putt or something?’ and she said, ‘yeah, go ahead.’ So I started on — I guess it was on Saturday — not this Saturday but the one before and I went out and putted for a half hour and went home, felt great, and then continued on Sunday, got out again and did a little more putting and hopefully I won’t have to use that putter for a while. So I just felt great all week and then I guess yesterday, I did that exertion test and everything felt great again last night, so today was my first day on the ice and I just feel normal again, so it’s nice.

On when he thinks he can practice with the team again:

Well, you know, tomorrow’s another big day, I guess. I got my neuro-psyche test that we have to go through and assuming I pass that, I’ll be cleared and it’s just a matter of getting back in shape. I haven’t done anything for, you know, six weeks at all, so I felt a little short-winded out there because of that, and it’s going to take some time and hopefully sooner rather than later, because I’m excited that I’m feeling good and it’s playoff time.

On if he envisions himself coming back in this series:

If you ask me, yeah, I’d love to play tonight, but you know, I got to be realistic here and take the proper steps and I’m hopeful, I’m hopeful. And I can’t see these next two games, that’s for sure, but down the road maybe, it’s going to come down to a coaches’ decision and a training decision and myself, so I think I’m still a little bit of ways away obviously, like I said, I haven’t done anything in six weeks, besides work the remote on the couch, so it’s going to take some time.

On if he regained the weight he lost:

Yeah, that came back quick. I wasn’t eating much for the first 3½, four weeks and then once I got the taste buds back, definitely ate some food, but the biggest thing is I’m just happy to feel like myself again and be around the guys, especially at this exciting time, especially watching the games on TV. You know, I couldn’t sit down the last couple of days, watching the games, running around the house and you know, there were some tense times, that’s for sure, and I’m excited.

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