Well, things just got a little worse for the Bruins on the injury front.
Patrice Bergeron is going to be out for at least four weeks with a rib and sternoclavicular injury. He was hurt in last week’s overtime loss to the Dallas Stars when his left shoulder area took the brunt of contact as he crashed awkwardly into the boards with Dallas forward Radek Faksa.
Bergeron missed some time after the collision into the boards, but finished out the game while a left shoulder/arm injury appeared to cause him enough discomfort that he was unable to take any faceoffs upon his return. Bergeron and John Moore (lower body injury) both left the team and returned to Boston after the Dallas to be evaluated for their injuries, an early indicator that No. 37’s injury was going to be a serious one.
The Bruins plugged versatile forward Joakim Nordstrom into a top-six center role with Bergeron out, but it remains to be seen what they’ll do over a longer period of time during his absence. Last season the Bruins had Riley Nash to fill in when Bergeron missed 18 games with groin and foot injuries, but it’s a different story this season. The Bruins have been almost completely dependent on the top line of Bergeron, Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak for just about everything, both offensively and defensively.
Bergeron is currently seventh in the NHL with 26 points (7 goals, 19 assists) in 19 games this season, and the Bruins are going to be hard-pressed to replicate that kind of offense with anybody that does fill in for Bergeron. Beyond that, the Bruins will be missing their two best defensive players in Bergeron and Zdeno Chara with longer-term injuries.
Will this be a breaking point for the Bruins with a ton of bodies already missing on the back end with injuries, and now two of their biggest performers probably out until Christmas at the earliest? It remains to be seen, but the Bruins are going to need to win games in a different way with Bergeron now on the sidelines for an extended period of time.
Click here to download the new MyTeams App by NBC Sports! Receive comprehensive coverage of your teams and stream the Celtics easily on your device.
