The first chapter has been written. Now it’s time for the scene to shift, and for the plot to twist and thicken — hopefully with some new characters.

The Bruins, who gathered at Warrior Ice Arena on July 13 for the first time in four months, held their 10th and final practice session Saturday morning at Warrior Arena, then rushed home for the last 24 hours with family, friends and any other loved ones they’ve allowed into their small circles before entering the [...]

The first chapter has been written. Now it’s time for the scene to shift, and for the plot to twist and thicken — hopefully with some new characters.

The Bruins, who gathered at Warrior Ice Arena on July 13 for the first time in four months, held their 10th and final practice session Saturday morning at Warrior Arena, then rushed home for the last 24 hours with family, friends and any other loved ones they’ve allowed into their small circles before entering the next stage of re-entry into the 2019-20 season: Sunday’s flight to Toronto, where they’ll move into a secure, "bubble" environment with 11 other teams from the NHL’s Eastern Conference.

The B’s won’t leave until they’ve either been eliminated from the Stanley Cup playoffs, or advance to the conference final — in which case they’d move from the Toronto bubble to one in Edmonton.

"Everyone’s worked hard to this point and is looking forward to getting to Toronto," coach Bruce Cassidy said. "I think [Toronto] is a great setup, by the sounds of it. ... I think we’ll be well taken care of there. Now we’ve got a job to do."

Some Bruins have more work ahead than others, and as of Saturday, it still hadn’t been officially determined or announced when or if scoring leader David Pastrnak or fellow winger Ondrej Kase would join the group. Unable to satisfy various protocols designed to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus that forced the NHL to suspend play after March 11, Pastrnak and Kase never participated in a full practice. Pastrnak was among a group of about 10 non-regulars who skated on Wednesday, July 15, while Kase skated later that day with rookie Trent Frederic. Neither player was seen around the team after that.

Cassidy said on Saturday that he expected Pastrnak, who tied for the NHL lead with 48 goals, to be on Sunday’s 5:30 p.m. flight to Toronto, but was "not sure" about whether Kase would travel with the team, or have to follow later.

The coach is certain, though, that Pastrnak, Kase, and now winger Nick Ritchie, who fell under the NHL/NHL Players Association-approved "unfit-to-participate" umbrella after missing the last three practices, face a lot of catching up as the Bruins prepare for a Thursday night exhibition against the Blue Jackets, followed by Sunday’s round-robin opener against the Flyers.

"All of them will have issues with the timing and execution of playing in tight spaces, because they haven’t done it," the coach said. "That’s the part where they’re going to have to be careful — keeping your head up [when] making plays.

"It’ll be live, and at high intensity, so those guys will have to catch up in a hurry. And I don’t know that we can necessarily simulate it in practice. We’re not going to start running each other, just so [they] can get ready. ... At the end of the day, the live stuff is going to be up to them."

The Bruins, otherwise, feel prepared to enter the next phase of preparation — adjustment to life in an environment they will rarely, if ever, be permitted to leave, a few more practices and the exhibition game. Play begins for keeps in the round-robin tournament, in which they’ll compete against the Flyers, Lightning (Wednesday, Aug. 5) and Capitals (Sunday, Aug. 8) to preserve the No. 1 seeding they earned in the conference, and overall, via their league-best record (44-14-12) when the league suspended the regular-season schedule.

"I think we had two weeks of really good practices," said captain Zdeno Chara, who turned 43 less than a week into the pause (March 18). "Good tempo. We mixed in some days to recover, and we’re going to have a few more days in Toronto.

"I think that everyone who came in ... came ready. Really good conditioning, prepared to practice and start training camp. I think everybody was very professionally prepared."