Patrice Bergeron’s Status For Game 3 Uncertain

The status of Boston Bruins captain Patrice Bergeron figuratively remained up in the air on Thursday, but the hope is that Bergeron would actually be up in the air with his team when they flew south to Florida for Games 3 and 4 against the Florida Panthers.

“He skated just now, so that’s a real positive sign,” Boston Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery told reporters Thursday morning. “But I haven’t talked to the athletic or medical trainer about where he’s at as far as coming with us on the trip.”

While the 37-year-old Bergeron is champing at the bit to lead his team to potentially his final shot to win the Stanley Cup, Bergeron is as always, staying positive and even-keeled as he tries to get back into the lineup.

“He’s a human being that doesn’t get rattled,” Montgomery said of the Boston Bruins captain and future hall of famer. “He’s holding up great. He carries himself with such — his confidence gives energy to everybody else that everything is OK. That’s just the way he carries himself on good days or bad days. He’s in real good spirits mentally and physically; he just wishes he could be on the ice with us right now.”

As of Thursday, Patrice Bergeron hadn’t played or practiced with his team for a week. It was on April 13 when he left with an upper-body injury after the first period of a 5-4 win over the Canadiens for the Boston Bruins in their regular season finale. Up until Wednesday, Montgomery and the Bruins had told the media that Bergeron was out due to an illness that had befallen numerous Bruins, as well as ‘nagging’ injuries. However, it is now known that Bergeron is still not playing due to an upper-body injury. What is that injury, though? No one except the Boston Bruins knows that right now, and they will do their best to keep it that way so his injury isn’t targeted by opponents if and when he returns to game action.

With the Boston Bruins suddenly in a dogfight with the Panthers and the series headed to Florida tied at one game a piece, could that have an effect on when Bergeron comes back?

Montgomery was then asked if the urgency to get Bergeron back could be there as the series continues or do the Boston Bruins depend on their depth.

“That’s a good question because, for me, we’ve had a next-man-up mentality all year long,” Montgomery replied. “Our record is still 6-1 without him in the lineup. Everyone’s thinking about the one loss right now because that’s what’s most recent. That’s human nature, but there’s a lot of confidence in our group of what we can do no matter who’s in the lineup.”