Bruins’ Captain Patrice Bergeron to Miss Game 2 Versus Panthers With Injury
Boston Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery has announced captain Patrice Bergeron will miss Wednesday’s Game 2 versus the Florida Panthers.
The Bruins, who lead the series 1-0, will be without their No. 1 centre for a second consecutive game after Bergeron was unavailable Monday night due to an illness. When asked about his status, Montgomery revealed the veteran forward is no longer sick but is dealing with an upper-body injury.
It’s the same ailment he suffered during the club’s final regular season contest on April 14th against the Montreal Canadiens, which saw him leave in the first period after just 5:36 of ice time.
“He’s progressing well, so he’s day-by-day, but he’s a ‘no’ for tonight,” Montgomery said following Wednesday’s practice.
Bergeron skated on his own prior to Wednesday’s team practice, one day after he didn’t participate in Boston’s optional skate on Tuesday. He has yet to skate with his teammates since the regular season concluded.
Despite being sidelined, the 37-year-old has remained a prominent presence within the locker room, offering his advice to anyone that would listen, including the coaching staff. And he even provided his input from an outsider’s perspective following their 3-1 victory in Game 1.
“He’s hard to keep [out of the lineup]. He’s such a pro, he’s such a competitor,” Montgomery said. “Obviously, everybody knows he wants to be in, but the great thing about him is his ability to put his own personal feelings aside and still lead our group like he does. That speaks volumes about his leadership quality.”
“Bergeron is the head of the snake. But there are a lot of pythons underneath him doing the work as well.”
Teammate Pavel Zacha served as Bergeron’s replacement Monday night, centering the Bruins’ top line alongside Brad Marchand and Jake DeBrusk. That trio was matched up against the Aleksander Barkov line, which was held scoreless all game.
Mid-season acquisition Tyler Bertuzzi also enjoyed an impactful performance, assisting on two of his team’s three goals.
There’s no way to replace the five-time Frank J. Selke Trophy winner, regarded as one of the sport’s top two-way forwards, but Boston’s depth helped carry the freight in his absence in Game 1 – something they’ll aim to replicate Wednesday night.
“He’s obviously a guy that we’re not gonna be able to replace on or off the ice, but with this group, it falls on all of our shoulders to try to help each other and communicate,” forward Brad Marchand said. “Playoff time is emotionally high, and there’s a lot of momentum swings so the more we can kind of control that on the bench and help each other out, it feeds the other guys.”
Bergeron, a member of the Bruins since 2003, was crucial in the franchise’s 2011 Stanley Cup championship, scoring six goals and 20 points across 23 playoff games. He is a three-time All-Star, a former King Clancy Trophy winner and a Mark Messier Leadership Award winner.
The Ancienne-Lorette, Que., native has logged 1,294 regular season games over 19 career NHL seasons – all with the Bruins. He placed third on the team in points (58) this season, potting 27 goals and 31 assists across 78 contests.
After contemplating retirement at the end of last season, Bergeron re-signed with the Bruins over the summer, agreeing to a one-year deal worth $2.5 million. He will be an unrestricted free agent this off-season.
-Thomas Hall
Twitter: @ThomasHall85
Photo: Naomi. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.