Patrice Bergeron was a force on the ice is his debut performance in the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Bergeron held nothing back over his 30 shifts, but his presence by itself was not enough to carry the day against the Florida Panthers on Wednesday night at the TD Garden. The Panthers fought off elimination and forced a Game 6 with a 4-3 overtime victory.
“It was great to be out there of course, there is nothing like playoff hockey,” said Bergeron. “To be able to contribute on the ice is satisfying and it was awesome to get back.”
The Bruins’ captain suffered an undisclosed upper body injury in the season finale at Montreal and missed the first four games against the Panthers.
Bergeron skated a full contact practice on Tuesday and was cleared to compete in his 168th playoff game with Boston, second most in team history. Bergeron skated 19:03 minutes, 4:34 on the power play, with six shots on goal.
“Obviously I needed a few shifts to get back into the rhythm and obviously getting back into the playoffs,” said Bergeron. “The pace was a little higher to get going.”
The Bruins took both matches at Florida with Bergeron on the mend. Bergeron would like to complete a Florida hat trick when the Bruins face the Panthers on Friday night at FLA Live Arena in Sunrise, Fla.
“We just have to go out there and to me, it is about sticking to who we are and how we want to play in Game 6,” said Bergeron. “We have to stay in our structure and play the way want to play.
“Obviously we would like to take care of pucks and little bit better in our zone. You don’t want to give them freebies if you will. Our structure is something that has given us success. That being said, they are a very good team and they came in and did what they had to do.”
Bergeron opened the game flanked by Tyler Bertuzzi and David Pastrnak, while Brad Marchand was paired with Charlie Coyle and Nick Foligno. He received a huge ovation from the fans when he took the ice for his opening shift in the Bruins end at 1:42 of the first.
After the Bruins fell behind 1-0 on a giveaway goal by Panthers’ left wing Anthony Duclair, Bruins coach Jim Montgomery reunited the Perfection Line with 7:30 to play in the first. Bergeron opened the third period paired with Marchand and Jake DeBrusk
“I thought he was good,” said Montgomery. “I thought he made a lot of good defensive plays and he does what he does. He scored a big goal for us and just continued to build our team game.”
Bergeron found himself between the circles on the Bruins’ first power play unit after Florida’s Sam Bennett got lugged to the cooler for holding 53 seconds into the middle frame. Marchand tied the game 1-1 at 2:27 when he poked his own rebound under the pads of Panthers’ goalie Sergei Bobrovsky. The tally was Marchand’s fourth of the series and second on the power play.
Panthers’ defenseman Aaron Ekblad had just taken up residence in the bin when Bergeron tied the game 2-2 at 4:27 of the third.
Bergeron won the draw back to Charlie McAvoy on the right point. McAvoy slid the puck over to Marchand, who one timed a slapper. Bergeron made the redirect to register his 50th postseason goal.
“I did the same things, the same routine and getting ready to get back and try help the guys,” said Bergeron. “So, I’m excited to be back and be able to contribute.”
