Charlie McAvoy could face surgery, Viktor Arvidsson joins Casey Mittelstadt and Elias Lindholm on IR as the battered B’s take on the Carolina Hurricanes.

BOSTON — With injuries starting to mount up and down the roster, the Bruins are closer to getting a key player back. Elias Lindholm was back on the ice for morning skate on Monday. He won’t play against the Carolina Hurricanes at TD Garden on Monday night, but he’s improving.

They might be in first place, but Marco Sturm's Bruins squad suffered two more injuries in Saturday's win over the Canadiens.

Boston defenseman Charlie McAvoy was hit in the mouth by a slap shot and left the Bruins’ game against the Montreal Canadiens midway through the second period Saturday night and didn’t return to the game.

MONTREAL -- The Boston Bruins went 7-for-7 on the penalty kill and held off the Montreal Canadiens 3-2 at Bell Centre on Saturday. Marat Khusnutdinov, Mason Lohrei and Viktor Arvidsson scored, and David Pastrnak had two assists for Boston (12-8-0), which has won eight of its past nine games. Jeremy Swayman made 26 saves.

Marco Sturm's first season as Bruins coach has gone better than most expected, but there are five key areas to keep an eye for sustained success.

There will be a homecoming on Saturday night as Mascouche, Quebec, native Jonathan Aspirot appears set to sub back into the Boston lineup. The 26-year-old made his NHL debut on Oct. 28 against the Islanders and played six games before sitting out the last two as a healthy scratch.