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Bruins GM pleasantly surprised by team’s good health

Dennis Seidenberg

When the Boston Bruins take on the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals, they might be at full strength -- or at least close to it.

“We’re pretty good, actually. We’ve got Andrew [Ference] out, he’s making progress. Wade [Redden] is close, if not ready. Just the bumps and bruises are minor,” Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli told CSN New England. “We got Dennis [Seidenberg] back. We’re in pretty good shape right now, knock on wood.”

In addition to defensemen Ference and Redden, Boston didn’t have blueliner Dennis Seidenberg available for the start of the second round, but he was able to return for Game 5 on Saturday.

Given how deep this year’s Penguins are, the Boston Bruins will need all hands on deck. However, the fact that they are healthy comes as something of a surprise to Chiarelli. After all, the regular season was condensed and the Bruins had to end it with a stretch of six games in just nine days to accommodate for postponed contests.

“I’m glad we’re at this juncture now with the bodies that we have, because I really thought, especially with those postponed games, I thought we were going to get hit at some point,” Chiarelli said.

The Bruins and Penguins will get a bit more time to rest and prepare while they wait for the outcome of the two Western Conference matches. The second-round could extend until Wednesday at the latest.