Charlie McAvoy hasn’t played a game for the Bruins since Feb. 8. The defenseman’s return to the lineup is undetermined, but he won’t play during Boston’s five-game  trip that begins Thursday in Las Vegas.

Interim coach Joe Sacco confirmed to reporters after Tuesday’s practice that McAvoy won’t travel with the Bruins.

McAvoy suffered a significant AC joint injury and infection in his shoulder during Team USA’s first game of the NHL 4 Nations Face-Off against Finland that landed him in the hospital for three nights. The Bruins’ alternate captain was released hours before USA’s eventual championship loss to Team Canada.

There was a report from SportsNet’s Elliotte Friedman that indicated the Bruins were unhappy with the care McAvoy received from Team USA’s medical team during the 4 Nations. General manager Don Sweeney sidestepped the question last month.

“We’re very grateful and appreciative to (team doctor) Dr. (Peter) Asnis and the medical staff that took care of Charlie,” Sweeney said. “Again, the care that Charlie received here is what’s most important from the standpoint of where his health is at now, and that’s all that really matters,” Sweeney said. “Dr. Asnis’ team, as I stated, did a great job.”

There’s no timetable for McAvoy’s return. Sacco mentioned over the weekend the top-pairing defenseman is still considered week-to-week.

THERE ARE 13 games to go for the Bruins in this end-of-an-era season and, looking at the standings, the hopes of a playoff spot are getting dimmer by the day.

Going into Tuesday’s games, the Bruins were three points behind the second wild-card holder, the New York Rangers.

As the Bruins are about to embark on a five-game trip, Sacco isn’t about to let his players think there’s nothing for them to play for. That includes but isn’t limited to the playoff chase.

“I think there is (something to play for),” said Sacco. “We came in this morning and … the games in hand? Sure you can look at that. But you can also just look at three points right now. That’s what’s separating us from the last wild-card spot right now as we stand here today. To me, that should be one of our focuses and it is one of our focuses as a group, to make sure we understand that we’re still in the thick of things here and nothing changes for us as far as our mindset in how we prepare and how we get ready for games.”

So, the Bruins play on. And while the roster is depleted of bona fide scoring threats beyond David Pastnak’s first line, there was plenty of emotion shown in the 3-2 overtime loss, from Pastrnak screaming at the officials to Joonas Korpisalo punting the puck after a whistle. It wasn’t enough to get them a win over the last place Sabres, though.

Maybe some new blood can deliver a spark. With the Bruins needing some extra players for the long trip, forward Fabian Lysell and defenseman Michael Callahan were brought up for the trip.

Lysell is an intriguing call-up. The 2021 first-round pick (21st overall) has gotten exactly one game in the NHL back on Dec. 28 and showed some decent jump. He didn’t register a point, but it was his speed that created the play that led to the game’s first goal, and the Bruins eventually beat the Blue Jackets 4-0 on that night.

Then he got sent back to Providence and hasn’t been seen here until now. After a four-game skid stretch without any points, he’s got 2-3-5 in his last six games and was playing with Riley Tufte and Fraser Minten, who is now one of the Bruins’ top prospects since being obtained by Toronto in the Brandon Carlo trade.

With Elias Lindholm taking a maintenance day on Tuesday, the 22-year-old Lysell skated on a wing with Marat Khusnutdinov at center and Jakub Lauko on the other wing. Assuming Lindholm returns for Thursday, that would presumably mean either Khusnutdinov or Lysell will start the trip watching.