Stuart

Bruins defenseman Mark Stuart, now more than two weeks removed from surgery on his injured pinkie finger, isn’t likely to return to the Bruins during their second-round playoff series with Pittsburgh or Philadelphia.

“He’s still a little bit of a ways away. I don’t anticipate seeing him in this next round,” general manager Peter Chiarelli said during a conference call this morning, a little more than 12 hours after his team eliminated Buffalo in a first-round series.

On April 4, Stuart had surgery because of an infection in his injured pinkie. He was originally ruled out for two weeks.