Bruins’ Pat Maroon takes step forward in recovery from surgery

With less than a month to go until the start of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Bruins might have some bruising reinforcements on the way.

For the first time since joining the Bruins via trade on March 8, winger Pat Maroon skated ahead of Boston’s morning skate at TD Garden on Thursday.

Maroon, acquired from Minnesota in exchange for a conditional 2026 sixth-round pick, is working his way back from back surgery. The 35-year-old power forward went under the knife on Feb. 7 and was initially tabbed with a four to six-week recovery.

“It was his first day on [the ice]. Big Rig is on his way back,” Jim Montgomery said Thursday. “Still week to week, and we’ve talked about his role and what my expectations are.”

At this point, the Bruins might be tabbing April as a realistic window for Maroon to return to game action, with seven more games left on the regular-season docket that month before the Stanley Cup Playoffs begin.

A three-time Stanley Cup champion, Maroon is still a feared presence on the ice thanks to his imposing 6-foot-3, 234-pound frame, with the St. Louis native logging 344 total penalty minutes over the last three seasons.

Even though Maroon might be known more for his physical play at this stage of his career, he injected some scoring punch into the Wild’s bottom-six grouping this season — scoring four goals and posting 16 points in 49 games.

The Bruins will welcome the snarl and veteran mettle that Maroon provides, especially during postseason play.

But Boston also doesn’t necessarily need to rush him back at this current juncture, especially with the current fourth-line trio of Johnny Beecher, Jesper Boqvist, and Justin Brazeau posting strong returns together.

In their three games together, the Beecher-Boqvist-Brazeau trio have logged 15:28 of 5-on-5 ice time. Over that stretch, the Bruins have outscored teams, 2-0, and held a 9-3 edge in shots on goal despite only logging one faceoff in the offensive zone.