BOSTON – It had been a little over five months since Chris Kelly had gone through a full practice with the Boston Bruins, so Monday’s full participation at a B’s practice was a big, important step for the 35-year-old center. The original diagnosis for the Nov. 3 injury had the defensive forward out 6-8 months with a left femur fracture, so a return prior to the end of the season would be well ahead of the initial recovery schedule set out for Kelly.

So the chances of him getting into any of the final three games this week doesn’t seem very likely unless he’s way, way ahead of schedule, but Kelly was still understandably enthused about getting back into the mix. So was his longtime head coach Claude Julien after watching Kelly skate with David Pastrnak, David Krejci and Matt Beleskey at Monday’s practice at TD Garden.

“He’s come along and he’s working hard, so it’s encouraging,” said Claude Julien. “The players enjoy having him around, and it’s a good body to have around the room with the other guys. He’s intense and focused, and as we said right when we lost him: he’s a part of our core group, and we’ve missed him.”

The alternate captain was also looking forward to lending his leadership and veteran voice to the group at such a key time where the Bruins will be tested in a must-win situation at home in the final three games of the season.

“It was good. It was obviously a little thing, but it was nice to be with the guys and skate with them. Obviously I’d like to be back playing at night, but it’s coming along. It’s time. It’s a long recovery coming back from a major injury, and it’s coming back the way I’d like,” said Kelly, who has two goals and a plus-3 rating in 11 games played. “Today was a step today in the right direction, and you just want to keep having better days one after the other. With this injury it’s really been baby steps.

“When you’re playing and you’re so heavily involved, maybe it’s nice to get…I don’t want to say an outside voice because I’d like to think I’ve been part of the group all year long, but maybe a guy seeing things from a different perspective. Somebody that can tell them maybe things aren’t as bad, or aren’t as good. Whether it’s words of encouragement or whatever, just a way to try and help out.”

So a return for Kelly this season might not be realistic unless the Bruins start delving deep into the postseason, but it was a small victory for a longtime B’s player to return to practice after rehabbing for most of his year.