Bergeron's Had Better Seasons, But Never Deserved All-Star Nod More Than Now
WILMINGTON (CBS) -- No one epitomized the Bruins' early-season struggles more than center Patrice Bergeron.
Although plus/minus is a horrible stat for judging any player, Bergeron's rating was telling. He was minus-three through the first nine games, minus-two through the first 18 games and didn't get on the positive side of the ledger until mid-December. Regardless of how poor a gauge that rating is, Bergeron had been plus-118 the four seasons prior to 2014-15 and clearly something was wrong.
As he heads to the 2015 NHL All-Star Game as the Bruins' lone representative, Bergeron is now plus-seven on the season. He also leads the team with 32 points and is tied for second on the club with 11 goals. More importantly to Bergeron, the Bruins have won six of their past eight games, and if the season ended today they would be in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the eighth straight season.
"I think it's the way that as you win you gain some confidence," Bergeron said about the Bruins' turnaround, which came on the heels of a 0-0-3 stretch that have everyone thinking changes were on the way. "You know you get some confidence by staying poised during games if there is one mistake made, and finding ways to go through games and realizing that there's going to be some ups and downs during games and just go through that."
Bergeron maintained that mentality throughout his personal slump and it eventually spread throughout the lineup. That's why the Bruins are no longer a laughingstock but a team that could at least give one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference a hard-fought series in the first round come April.
Teams that suffer a crisis in confidence have to turn to their leaders. Bergeron has worn an alternate captain's 'A' ever since defenseman Zdeno Chara was anointed captain prior to the 2006-07 season. Bergeron has always been a leader, mostly with his actions. But he's also been insulated by a veteran core that over the years has included Mark Recchi, Shawn Thornton, Andrew Ference and others with more experience and more of a willingness to speak up directly and succinctly to make sure the Bruins were all on the same page.
The layers of the Bruins' leadership have been peeled away over the past several seasons. That's left Bergeron, now a 29-year-old who has experienced everything a player could experience, as one of the beacons of guidance in the Bruins' dressing room. Although a lot of the Bruins' pre-All-Star Game portion of the schedule was spent in the doldrums, Bergeron was among those who made sure the season didn't get away from the club.
Bergeron has been a calming influence during a tumultuous time.
"Well he's always been like that," coach Claude Julien said. "I don't think he's ever changed. You know he's a guy that comes in, works hard every game, a reliable player. A coach knows exactly what he's going to get from that player as far as work ethic is concerned. And then he's a calming influence, but he's also a guy who has the ability to raise his voice when he needs to. And when he does, I think he gets the team's attention. So he's got a lot of good qualities there that we really admire in the dressing room and even on the ice."
With Bergeron in their lineup during the past decade, there have been plenty of ups and downs. But it's been several years since they've had to deal with major departures from their roster, injuries and inexperience all at once. Bergeron's linemates were practically written in stone prior to this season. He's played on several different trios this year and has had to pick up the slack when center David Krejci and defensive stalwart Chara were out with injuries. Although he wouldn't admit it, Bergeron was clearly trying to do too much at times and it cost him and the Bruins.
Once Bergeron took a step back and continued to play hard, but within his means, the Bruins began to at least resemble the competitive team they thought they would be. They've since gotten completely healthy and started to at least accumulate points in the standings even when they haven't played perfect games. Bounces that weren't going their way early have started to turn in their favor in the past month. Bergeron has been a two-way force and he's clearly been the team MVP.
He probably won't match the 30 goals he scored last season or break plus-20 like he has the past four seasons. But he's an All-Star for the first time and he probably never deserved that honor more. Bergeron was instrumental in keeping the Bruins afloat on the ice through a heap of adversity, and along the way he's clearly taken his off-ice leadership to another level that will pay off for the Bruins beyond this season.
Matt Kalman covers the Bruins for CBSBoston.com and also contributes to NHL.com and several other media outlets. Follow him on Twitter @TheBruinsBlog.