Bergeron Skates With Bruins On Friday, Cassidy Not Ruling Him Out For Game 5
BOSTON (CBS) -- When Patrice Bergeron misses a playoff game, it has to be something serious.
The B's forward was a late scratch just ahead of Thursday night's Game 4 against the Toronto Maple Leafs with what the team is calling an upper-body injury. Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy addressed the injury following Boston's 3-1 victory, and hopes Bergeron will be back in the lineup Saturday night when Boston has a chance to advance to the second round.
"As we said he had an upper-body we were managing, and he wasn't able to go. We'll classify it as day-to-day, and hopefully he's better and ready to go Saturday," Cassidy told reporters.
Bergeron skated with the Bruins on Friday morning, and Cassidy followed that up by saying he's "not ruling him out" for Saturday's Game 5.
While it's a great sign that Bergeron was out there on Friday, it's still worrisome that he had to miss a game. He's the guy who has played through a punctured lung, a separated shoulder, broken ribs and a slew of other injuries we'll probably never know about. The biggest concern is this could be a concussion, as Bergeron has missed time with three of those throughout his career. But it's dangerous to speculate what the injury could be, with Boston's "upper-body" designation about as vague as it can get. It could be as simple as an illness, and Bergeron will be back on the ice come Saturday night.
One thing is certain: IF Bergeron is healthy, he'll be out there for the Bruins.
Cassidy said this mystery injury is something the Bruins and Bergeron have been managing for "some time." Bergeron, a Selke finalist for the seventh straight season, played 21 minutes in Monday night's Game 3 loss, firing off three shots for Boston. He tallied five assists in the first two games of the series as his line, along with David Pastrnak and Brad Marchand, combined for 20 points in Boston's two home victories. Riley Nash took Bergeron's spot on Tuesday night.
We'll hopefully get a clearer picture on Bergeron's status over the next 24 hours, leading up Game 5's 8pm start time. But if Bergeron is forced to miss an extender period of time, it would be a major hit to Boston's Stanley Cup hopes this postseason.