Patrice Bergeron missed his second day of practice and the captain is officially a question mark for Monday’s Game 1 against the Florida Panthers.
Bergeron left the regular season finale on Thursday in Montreal after the first period with what was termed as an upper body injury and he hasn’t touched the ice since then. On Saturday, coach Jim Montgomery said it’s an injury that as been nagging him. On Sunday, GM Don Sweeney said that he’s also dealing with an illness as well.
Judging by Sweeney’s assessment, it feels closer to a coin flip on whether Bergeron will be available for Game 1.
“He’s taking an extra day again, today, obviously. It’s to be decided (Monday). If he feels well enough, he’ll play. If not, we’ve done a really good job down the stretch of trying…to monitor (injury and illnesses), so we’re just trying to monitor that and battle through that. Patrice doesn’t need extra days of practice. So if he feels better, he’ll play,” said Sweeney.
In Bergeron’s absence, Pavel Zacha has been skating between the captain’s usual linemates Brad Marchand and Jake DeBrusk while David Krejci, who missed the last six games of the regular season, has been skating between David Pastrnak and Tyler Bertuzzi. Charlie Coyle has been centering Taylor Hall and Trent Frederic while the fourth line has been Tomas Nosek between Nick Foligno, who would be playing his first game since February 28, and Garnet Hathaway.
“Pavel’s assumed a lot of those responsibilities and he’s handled it really well. Obviously with the faceoffs, Patrice is one of the best in the game so that’s an area where everyone has to dig in,” said Sweeney. “We’ve played different games this year when Patrice has been out and all those guys have stepped in. But that’s to be decided. So we’re not focused on that. Obviously Pavel got some reps and that’s needed to play with Jake and Brad. He hasn’t played a lot with them. And Charlie Coyle has moved around as well. That’s not something we’re overly concerned about at this point.”
Team president Cam Neely said he’s “extremely” confident in the team’s depth if Bergeron is not available for Game 1.
“We showed it all year,” said Neely. “We’ve had a lot of players in and out of the lineup this year and the record speaks for itself. Our depth is as good as it’s ever been.”
Indeed, when the B’s were faced with back-to-backs on the final five weekends of the season, Bergeron was rested and the B’s continued to win, beating Carolina, Pittsburgh, St. Louis and Philadelphia on their way to the record-breaking wins totals.
But they are unquestionably a better team with the five-time Selke Award winner in lineup. His longtime linemate Marchand expressed confidence that he’d be able to play.
“He’s obviously a huge piece of the group and he always leads on and off the ice, regardless of if he’s on the ice practicing or not. It’s not a big deal,” said Marchand. “He’s taken rest days throughout the year just to make sure he’s feeling good. If someone’s not feeling well this time of year then it’s just great to have the opportunity to rest up and prepare.”
Did he expect Bergeron to be in the lineup on Monday night?
“Yeah. I think he’s just sick or something,” said Marchand.
We shall see…
Also missing practice was goalie Jeremy Swayman, who Sweeney said was also suffering from an illness.
On the bright side, Linus Ullmark, who left Tuesday’s game in the third period after suffering a lower body injury when he made a post-to-post push-off, practiced for the second straight day.
With his ever-present bemused smile, Ullmark said he was all good.
“I’m doing great. Thanks for asking,” said Ullmark when inquired about his health.
What was his level of concern when he left the game on Tuesday?
“Ah, it was precautionary. Nothing else than that,” said Ullmark.
This is Ullmark’s second go in the playoffs. He played the first two games of the series against Carolina last year, both losses, before giving way to Swayman. Any different feeling this time around?
“I don’t know. It’s tough to say. I think the most concerning part is how to get to the Garden with the Boston Marathon going on,” said Ullmark. “But other than that, it’s very exciting. It always is and will always be.”
In Swayman’s absence, Keith Segee, who often fills in at practice when the B’s are down a goalie, manned the second net.