Bruins’ Patrice Bergeron not anticipating ‘any setbacks’ ahead of potential Game 5 debut; David Krejci ruled out Wednesday
“You want to be out there with the boys and battle and compete."
As the Bruins took to the ice at FLA Live Arena last weekend, Patrice Bergeron was nearly 1,500 miles away. Like the majority of the hockey-watching populace, Bergeron needed to take in Games 3 and 4 of Boston’s first-round series against the Panthers through a television screen.
His usual barks of reassurance or on-ice mandates were confined to texts out to Bruins assistant coach Chris Kelly as his teammates scrapped down in South Florida.
And although the Bruins returned to Boston with two road wins, watching from afar was an unenviable situation for the 37-year-old Bergeron, who spent the weekend recovering from a nagging upper-body injury.
“It was definitely different. Felt like it was a little bit more nerve-wracking than when you’re on the ice or the bench,” Bergeron said Tuesday morning at Warrior Ice Arena. “You feel like you can actually do something about it.”
Bergeron might get his chance to help his teammates on the ice Wednesday night, as the Bruins captain is inching closer to a return ahead of Boston’s potential series clincher in Game 5.
Bergeron took part in a full team practice on Tuesday morning, his first on-ice skate with the rest of the roster since April 13.
Barring any setback on Wednesday morning, the top-line pivot will likely make his playoff debut at TD Garden later that night.
“Today is a good day and we’ll see you tomorrow, how I feel,” Bergeron said. “I’m not anticipating any setbacks. So far, so good.”
Although Bergeron is on the brink of a return to game action, his fellow center in David Krejci might need to wait a bit longer.
Krejci skated on his own for 20 minutes ahead of Tuesday’s practice, following a similar routine as Bergeron’s ramp-up over the last week.
Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery said that Boston’s second-line center is “progressing well” from an upper-body injury, but will not be available for Game 5. Montgomery did add that Krejci — set to miss three straight games — “potentially” could play in a Game 6, if necessary, on Friday.
Boston’s center corps has been bolstered by strong top-six contributions from Charlie Coyle and Pavel Zacha. But Bergeron’s two-way acumen and on-ice presence will further lift a Bruins roster looking to close out a physical series against the Panthers.
“You want to be out there with the boys and battle and compete. You go through a full season and you work hard to get to this point,” Bergeron said. “Obviously you want to be out there, it is frustrating. But that being said, now we’re here and the boys did a great job.”
It’s been an arduous stretch for Bergeron, who landed on the shelf after exiting Boston’s regular-season finale in Montreal for “precautionary” reasons. Asked if his current physical issue is something that will need to be monitored throughout this playoff push, Bergeron stressed that he is “taking it day by day.”
If Bergeron is cleared for Game 5, he may not have his usual linemate stapled to his left.
During Tuesday’s practice, Montgomery split up Bergeron and Brad Marchand in Boston’s top-six unit. Bergeron skated between Tyler Bertuzzi and David Pastrnak, while Marchand joined a forward grouping with Charlie Coyle and Nick Foligno.
Following practice, Montgomery noted that Tuesday’s lines are not a set precursor for what he will roll out in Game 5.
“It’s just for me to look at lines to see — I know what Marchy and Bergy look like. I don’t know if there’s going to be our lines tomorrow,” Montgomery said. “The tough part, I said to Marchy, would be if I say Bergeron’s line’s up, we’re gonna get too many men if you’re not on his line.”
Bergeron and Marchand skated together for 724:34 of 5v5 ice time during the regular season, with Boston outscoring opponents, 37-16, during that extended stretch of action.
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