Bruins F Patrice Bergeron played through herniated disc during playoffs

Bruins forward Patrice Bergeron told reporters Sunday night that he was playing with a herniated disc in his back during Boston's first-round Eastern Conference playoff series against the Florida Panthers.

Bergeron sustained the herniated disc during the Bruins' final game of the regular season, a 5-4 victory over the host Montreal Canadiens back on April 13. It was labeled as an upper-body injury at the time, and Bergeron did not return to the game against Montreal for precautionary reasons.

The injury forced Bergeron to miss the first four games of the series against Florida, but the Bruins won three of those contests. Bergeron returned for Game 5 and scored a goal -- his lone point of the 2023 playoffs -- but it wasn't enough, as Boston fell 4-3. The Panthers then won Games 6 and 7 to stun the Bruins and advance to the second round.

With the offseason now upon Boston after its historic 65-12-5 (135 points) regular season, Bergeron also said that he was weighing his options when it came to the future.

"I gotta take some time and talk with the family and go from there," Bergeron said. "Right now it's too hard to process anything. Obviously we're shocked and disappointed."

Bergeron, 37, recorded 58 points (27 goals, 31 assists) in 78 games this season, his 19th with the Bruins.