Goaltender Tuukka Rask is unsigned as he rehabs from hip surgery. He has been working out at the same facility where the Bruins practice, ans joined the team for practice for the first time this season on Tuesday. Frank Franklin II/Associated Press

BOSTON — About 15 minutes before Bruins’ practice on Monday, Tuukka Rask was out on the ice taking shots from a couple of players while goalie coach Bob Essensa watched. That was nothing out of the ordinary. Rask has been working out at Warrior Ice Arena before practice for weeks now as he continues his rehab from hip surgery.

But after taking a brief water break by the boards as the rest of the players filtered on to the ice, Rask pulled his mask back down and headed back to the net. For the first time since the Bruins were bounced from the playoffs last season, Rask – still unsigned – was going to practice with the team.

As it turned out, he was called upon to practice because Linus Ullmark was one of a handful of players who were stricken with a non-COVID illness and unable to practice. But the fact that he was ready to see some live action in a less controlled environment represents a pretty good step toward a return to the NHL.

“It was good to see him and it brought a little excitement level up from the boys, so it’s good to see him out there,” said assistant coach Joe Sacco. “Just by watching him, he looked good. I can’t tell with how close he is or not. But he certainly looked good out there. I think he had some fun and I know the guys were excited to see him out there.”

Just how much he pushed himself and how much he held back is not quite clear. Without a contract yet, Rask took a pass on speaking to reporters.

But at one point during a small area scrimmage, he had lost his stick but managed to rob Derek Forbort, causing his most likely future teammates to roar in approval. One player could be heard shouting the familiar fan refrain of “Toooo–ka!”

“It’s always fun having him out there,” said Brad Marchand. “It’s incredibly frustrating shooting on him. You try to shoot it as hard as you can and he just makes it look so simple. He’s such a gifted and talented goalie. It’s great to see him back out there again.”

At this point, it seems like an inevitability that Rask will return to the Bruins at some point this season. The salary cap being what it is, the signing of a deal probably won’t come until just before he’s ready to play, which isn’t expected to be before the new year.

If that happens, the easiest move would be to send Jeremy Swayman back to Providence because he is still waiver exempt. That could make for an awkward situation. Marchand did his best to walk that fine line.

“Obviously Tuuks is one of the best goalies to play, during our time anyway, so him coming back and if he’s ready to play, that’s obviously great for the group,” said Marchand. “But we have two great goalies and regardless of who goes in every night, we have to do our job. Goalie, D, forwards, it doesn’t matter. But obviously Tuuks is another guy who can come in and make a difference.”

ILLNESS HITS TEAM: The non-COVID illness running through the team caused the Bruins to reschedule their departure for their three-game western Canada trip that begins Wednesday in Vancouver. They were going to leave on Monday but with Ullmark, Tomas Nosek, Matt Grzelcyk and Charlie Coyle all feeling under the weather enough to miss Monday’s practice, they decided to leave on Tuesday.

Charlie McAvoy, who missed Saturday’s game because of a non-COVD illness, skated on his own prior to Monday’s practice.

“We wanted to give our guys an extra day to hopefully feel better, reset again after 24 hours and go from there,” said Sacco.

With the illnesses, Jack Ahcan and veteran John Moore were recalled from Providence.

AHCAN IMPRESSES: Ahcan had been sent back to Providence after his game on Saturday in Boston, but it wasn’t because of a poor performance. He was very good in the 3-2 overtime loss, not only driving the play offensively but making the defensive plays when he needed to. He looked much more ready than he did when he was recalled for three games last year.

“He played more to his identity as a player,” said Sacco. “We talked with Jack before what he needed to do and it was play his game.

“He’s a guy that transitions the puck well. He can jump up in the play at the right time. He can create offense for us off the rush and also be good at the offensive blue line. I thought he did a good job. And again, the biggest thing we were looking for from him was to be a responsible player in his own (zone) and he did a good job. He was competitive, didn’t seem out of place in any way against a good hockey club. It was a good game for Jack.”

Ahcan was tested in his own end early when veteran Corey Perry tried to take the puck to the net on the left wing but the undersized Ahcan was able to knock him off the puck.

“I felt good,” said the 5-foot-8, 178-pound Ahcan. “I tried to keep it simple at the start. I just tried to keep it simple. It had been a while since I skated or been up with the Bruins. I just wanted to move pucks up and down the ice and it felt good out there.

NOTES: Patrice Bergeron missed Monday’s practice so he could have his nose reset. He had it broken in Nashville last Thursday, presumably on the hit from Filip Forsberg that had him fuming for the rest of the game. … Sacco said Coach Bruce Cassidy’s COVID symptoms had dissipated and now it’s a matter of going through the protocol. Ten days have to elapse before he’s eligible for a return and then it’s contingent upon testing negative. Sacco was not sure if he planned to meet the team later in the trip.