Kalman: Bergeron Prevented Bruins Meltdown Before Routing Blackhawks
BOSTON (CBS) -- There have been so many nights when most of the Bruins have skated as though their shorts were on fire and center Patrice Bergeron looked like a brave firefighter running into danger to extinguish the flames.
The Bruins' playoff hopes were definitely in dangers of turning to ash when Boston took the ice Sunday in Chicago minutes after the Philadelphia Flyers won to pull within two points of the Bruins in the race for the second Eastern Conference wild card spot.
The Flyers weren't the only ones threatening the Bruins' presence in the playoff picture. The Florida Panthers were still one point behind Boston. The Bruins had gone six games without a win (0-4-2). And center David Krejci was back on the sidelines for the first time since he returned to the lineup Dec. 17.
But Bergeron refused to sit idly by and let the Blackhawks use the Bruins as a campfire. He was at his best during all of his 15:48 of ice time in the Bruins' 6-2 slump-busting victory against Chicago. But there were two instances when the Bruins really needed him and he saved the day.
It took Bergeron just 3:00 into the game to drive to the net and bang in linemate Reilly Smith's sweet backhand pass to put the Bruins ahead 1-0. Without Krejci, the Bruins have struggled offensively this season. Bergeron's goal was a confidence boost to a team that might've been thinking it wouldn't score until Krejci's return.
Forward Loui Eriksson followed Bergeron's goal with a power-play score for a 2-0 lead. But then Boston began to let the Blackhawks back into the game. Jonathan Toews scored a power-play goal with two seconds remaining in the first period after Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask got caught playing the puck outside of the trapezoid. Rask's inexplicable decision to slam his stick into the post after the goal resulted in another penalty. The torch seemed lit and the Bruins looked primed to burn down faster than a scarecrow.
There was nothing to fear, however, because mighty Bergeron was on the scene. With Bergeron and Chris Kelly on the ice to start the penalty kill at the opening of the second period, the Blackhawks couldn't generate any semblance of an attack and even had to defend their own end. Bergeron had one golden scoring chance that Chicago goaltender Corey Crawford made one of his rare impressive saves against. Chicago had no momentum, the Bruins scored the next goal and, for the first time in a long time, the floodgates opened for a Bruins rout.
Other Bruins produced plenty of positives in their important victory. Milan Lucic scored a rare goal in a game he didn't have Krejci to play with. Brian Ferlin had his first NHL point and Ryan Spooner looked NHL-ready one day after he was recalled from the Providence farm club. Rask bounced back from his two penalties and the defense made crisper passes and better decisions.
It all started, though, with Bergeron's play. The alternate captain added two assists to his 200th career goal and took over 12th place on the Bruins' all-time scoring list with 537 points. Just as important as Bergeron's goals and assists is the way he really does go all out every single shift, regardless of the score, who he's playing with and how the team has been faring.
Bergeron's steadiness has been well-documented the past several seasons and he's been rewarded with the Selke Trophy twice, a spot on two Canadian Olympic teams and an All-Star Game selection this season. Once considered underrated, Bergeron never fails to be in the conversation about best all-around players in the game anymore. Watching him play during this tumultuous Bruins season, however, has given one an even better appreciation about what he means to the organization. Sure, he was on the wrong side of the plus/minus rating earlier in the year. But that's a stat used by cavemen who haven't bought into the notion that electric light is here to stay. All the other numbers said that Bergeron was a bright light on a team of dark spots. And those numbers only meant something if you were basing Bergeron's performances on statistics, which is a waste.
The only way to appreciate Bergeron is to watch him. Every fourth shift, there's going to be at least one player in black and gold that makes something happen at one or both ends of the ice over the course 30-45 seconds.
One man can't will the Bruins to victories or prevent this season from ending as a four-alarm disaster. Bergeron's going to do his best to prove that idea false, and for one afternoon in Chicago he made sure that the Bruins' potential meltdown was just a drill and not a full-blown inferno.
Matt Kalman covers the Bruins for CBSBoston.com and also contributes to NHL.com and several other media outlets. Follow him on Twitter @TheBruinsBlog.
