Van Riemsdyk feted in return

James van Riemsdyk was sick.

Like “dropping a dozen pounds quick” sick.

Van Riemsdyk missed Thursday’s win over the Canadiens but returned to Boston’s lineup for its 6-5 win Saturday night over the Flyers, playing a teamlow 10:56.

“Yeah, feeling much better now,” the Bruins winger said following morning skate. “So, it’s nice to be on the other end of it and good to be back out there on the ice with the guys.”

It was a special night for van Riemsdyk, who was given a silver stick for recently playing in his 1,000th career game (March 5 against the Oilers).

He acknowledged there was a time during the week that his bug might have prevented him from answering the bell for this one.

“Yeah, a little bit there,” he said. “It was definitely one of the longer sicknesses I’ve had to deal with, so it’s been quite a few days, so definitely nice to be feeling much better now though.”

Van Riemsdyk had by his estimate between 70 and 80 people at TD Garden to help mark the occasion.

“It’s lots of family, friends, different people, a couple of different coaches that I played for, a couple former teammates from along the way,” he said. “So yeah, it’s pretty special, especially to have the turnout from some of the people that are coming. I definitely didn’t necessarily expect to have that many people, so it’ll be pretty cool to share it with them.”

NHL tradition holds that players are acknowledged on the night of the accomplishment, but not presented with the silver stick until later.

A home game against Philadelphia, the team van Riemsdyk broke in with as the No. 2 overall pick in 2007, was an apt choice.

The UNH product ranks

24th in Flyers franchise history with 146 goals and 32d in points with 297. He recalled his first game — and point — Saturday.

“So that was in Raleigh, playing against the Hurricanes and I just remember I had a few of my buddies that I grew up with in New Jersey that made the drive down there for that,” he said. “I think my parents actually missed that game, too, for whatever reason. I can’t even remember why, but I think we had a win in that game [2-0]. I think I had an assist, but yeah, it’s crazy to think that that was like 15-plus years ago.”

If the veteran was able to pass any advice on to his rookie self — or any other younger player — it would have been to develop, and stick to, a routine.

“The more I’ve found over the years is that to have consistency and to have longevity, that’s the biggest thing is having a good routine, having a process that you buy into, prepare yourself to play every single night,” he said. “So, I remember my first year pretty much was get to the rink; I think we watched ‘Everybody Loves Raymond’ for a couple episodes and then we go out and practice.

“The routine has changed quite a bit since then. All the preparation that goes into it to be feeling good each and every night. So yeah, it was definitely nice though as far as just showing up and getting out there, but you realize how much more goes into it and you learn a lot of things along the way to help you with that. So, that’s good.”

For the record, van Riemsdyk’s show of choice now is “Friends.” Appropriate for Saturday’s celebration.

Getting a peek

Andrew Peeke was back on the blue line for the second straight game, his first at TD Garden in the Black and Gold. He had an assist on Johnny Beecher’s third-period goal, playing 19:31.

“It’s awesome. I liked playing against them at the Garden, but it wasn’t necessarily fun in terms of being in an away team,” he said. “So, excited to wear the B’s jersey at home and experience that for my first time.”

Peeke said his former team, the Blue Jackets, had adopted some of the Bruins’ systems and schemes, so he felt good after getting a few skates under his belt.

“There’s just a couple things here and there that are a bit different and some rules in certain situations, whether it’s breakouts or whatever, but for the general consensus, it’s pretty similar,” said Peeke. “So obviously that makes the transition a little bit easier.”

Grzelcyk returns

Matt Grzelcyk, who also was hit by a bug and missed the Montreal trip, also returned to the lineup playing on the top defensive pairing with Charlie McAvoy . . . Beecher, fresh off a strong game against the Canadiens, remained in the lineup, bumping Jakub Lauko to watch from the ninth floor . . . Mason Lohrei and Kevin Shattenkirk were the healthy scratches on defense . . . Extra JVR nuggets: He was named one of the Maple Leafs’ 100 greatest players during their centennial celebration in 2016-17. He also scored the 20,000th goal in Maple Leafs history on Dec. 29, 2017, the 100th anniversary of the franchise’s first goal . . . Song of the night: “Drunken Sailor,” by the Irish Rovers. Happy St. Patrick’s Day, one and all.