After a 20-game absence, the Bruins officially activated Taylor Hall off the long-term injured reserve on Saturday.

Hall’s jump to the lineup is a welcomed one for the Bruins, and will see the 31-year-old skate to the left of Charlie Coyle and Trent Frederic on the Black and Gold’s third line. The current plan calls for Hall to play without any sort of minutes restriction, but with the Bruins planning on focusing on Hall’s five-on-five minutes.

But just how were the Bruins, who have been tight against the salary cap all year long, able to pull this one off?

• Like they have for much of the season, the Bruins found their wiggle room by way of the long-term injured reserve, with forward Nick Foligno placed on the long-term injured reserve.

  The 35-year-old Foligno has not played since he absorbed a heavy hit from the Flames’ Nikita Zadorov in a Feb. 28 showdown in Calgary, but has been skating in a non-contact sweater in recent days and weeks.

  The hope is that Foligno is ready to go for the first round of the playoffs — Foligno joked (I think) that he’s going to say some swear words at some people if he’s unable to go — but Foligno himself has acknowledged that he still has a ways to go before he’s fully ready to rejoin the lineup.

  “There’s no real timetable,” Foligno, who is dealing with a lower-body injury (he wouldn’t get into the specifics of the injury), said Saturday. “It’s just a matter of me feeling as good as I need to feel and when that time comes, we’ll know when I’m ready. And I think it’s hard, because you see me out there skating, but I’m still working towards, trying to trying to feel as good as I can for the team when I want to come back and step in and that’s all we’re focused on.

  “So as much as I’d like to be back out there and dying to be back out there, I gotta make sure that when I do, I’m ready and ready to go for the long haul here.

  Foligno, who makes $3.8 million per year, has recorded 10 goals and 26 points in 60 games this season.

• 

  Feb 11, 2023; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Bruins left wing Nick Foligno (17) is congratulated at the bench after scoring against the Washington Capitals during the second period at TD Garden. (Winslow Townson/USA TODAY Sports)

• In addition to Foligno, the Bruins also placed defenseman Derek Forbort on the long-term injured reserve.

  Injured on a blocked shot off his right ankle in a Mar. 16 win over the Jets, the Bruins had already acknowledged that Forbort, though unlikely to require surgery, was not expected to return to action in the regular season.

  Forbort, who had been Boston’s go-to defenseman on the B’s league-best penalty kill this season, recorded five goals and 12 points in 54 regular-season games prior to the injury.

  The team also sent Oskar Steen down to Providence.

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  Feb 25, 2023; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Boston Bruins defenseman Derek Forbort (28) skates between play during the third period against the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena. (Anne-Marie Sorvin/USA TODAY Sports)

• In the case of both Foligno and Forbort, however, the move to the long-term injured reserve will be retroactive to when they were injured. That’s helpful in the sense that teams are not able to place players on the long-term injured reserve in the final 10 games of the regular season. Foligno was injured in the 60th game of the season, while Forbort’s injury came in Game No. 67 of the regular season. Both injuries satisfy the 10 games and 24 days requirement that comes with the long-term injured reserve designation.

  The other big question you may have is in regards to what this means for the postseason. But their respective moves to the long-term injured reserve does not impact their playoff eligibility, as both Foligno and Forbort would be eligible to return to the Bruins’ roster for Game 1 of the first round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

  And, again, neither player was expected to return to action before the end of the regular season.

• 

  BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS – DECEMBER 22: Nick Foligno #17 of the Boston Bruins celebrates with Trent Frederic #11 after scoring a goal against the Winnipeg Jets during the third period at the TD Garden on December 22, 2022 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Brian Fluharty/Getty Images)

• The two-for-one LTIR movement has also given the Bruins plenty of cap space for late-season recalls over the final three games of the season, as the Bruins currently have $3.9 million in cap space.

  It is worth noting that that money cannot be used to pay off the upcoming bonus overages coming the Bruins’ way — Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci will make up the majority of those overages, while Jeremy Swayman is also on the hook for some — as you are not allowed to pay off bonus money with LTIR-created cap space. That money will instead be deducted off next year’s salary cap ceiling.

  Following Saturday’s game against the Devils, the Bruins will end their season with a three-pack against non-playoff teams, with showdowns against the Flyers, Capitals, and Canadiens on deck.

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