Five Boston Bruins players went to Sochi to chase an Olympic gold medal for their respective nations. After the semifinals, two Bruins still have an opportunity to claim that prize.
Patrice Bergeron was the only Bruin to medal at the 2010 Vancouver Games when Canada defeated the United States to capture the gold on home soil. Now the center will be forced to go through Bruins teammate Loui Eriksson (Sweden) to win it a second consecutive time. Tuukka Rask could return to Boston with a bronze medal if his Finnish team defeats the United States on Saturday.
Below is an updated recap of each player’s performance and stats from Sochi.
Zdeno Chara, Defenseman, Slovakia
Chara might have played his final Olympic game Tuesday in Slovakia’s 5-3 qualification-round loss to the Czech Republic.
The Slovakian captain tallied zero points, three shots and an even plus-minus rating in a team-high 24:19 of ice time. He played pretty well defensively, but the team was let down by the performance of starting goaltender Jan Laco, who stopped just 24 of 28 shots.
Chara concludes the Olympics with one assist and nine shots on goal. He is expected to return to Boston soon.
How Chara Fared
| Day | Opponent | Result | Stats |
| Feb. 13 | USA | L, 7-1 | 0G, 0A, 3SOG |
| Feb. 15 | SLO | L, 3-1 | 0G, 1A, 2SOG |
| Feb. 16 | RUS | L, 1-0 | 0G, 0A, 1SOG |
| Tuesday | CZE | L, 5-3 | 0G, 0A, 3SOG |
——–
Loui Eriksson, Right Wing, Sweden
Eriksson extended his goal streak to two games Friday when he got Sweden on the board five minutes after Finland opened the scoring in the second period.
He had one shot on goal, but the veteran winger had an excellent all-around game as a penalty killer and a strong defensive presence in all three zones. Eriksson received a team-high 7:41 of ice time among forwards in the third period. The Swedish coaching staff is able to trust him late in games because of his high hockey IQ and defensive abilities.
How Eriksson Has Fared
| Day | Opponent | Result | Stats |
| Feb. 12 | CZE | W, 4-2 | 0G, 0A, 2SOG |
| Feb. 14 | SUI | W, 1-0 | 0G, 0A, 1SOG |
| Feb. 15 | LAT | W, 5-3 | 0G, 0A, 3SOG |
| Wednesday | SLO | W, 5-0 | 1G, 1A, 3SOG |
| Friday | FIN | W, 2-1 | 1G, 0A, 1SOG |
Sweden will play Canada in the gold medal game Sunday.
——–
David Krejci, Center, Czech Republic
Krejci did not play well in the Czech Republic’s ugly 5-2 loss to the United States in Wednesday’s quarterfinal round. He was held scoreless by the Ryan Suter and Ryan McDonagh defensive pairing and only won five of his 15 faceoffs. Krejci also tallied one shot on goal and an even plus/minus rating in 17:32 of ice time.
Looking back at his performance, Krejci didn’t play to the level the Czech fans expected of him. He scored only one goal in the team’s five games and failed to make much of an impact offensively.
How Krejci Fared
| Day | Opponent | Result | Stats |
| Feb. 12 | SWE | L, 4-2 | 0G, 0A, 0SOG |
| Feb. 14 | LAT | W, 4-2 | 0G, 1A, 0SOG |
| Feb. 15 | SUI | L, 1-0 | 0G, 1A, 1SOG |
| Tuesday | SVK | W, 5-3 | 1G, 1A, 1SOG |
| Wednesday | USA | L, 5-2 | 0G, 0A, 1SOG |
——–
Patrice Bergeron, Center, Team Canada
Bergeron is going to play for the second gold medal of his international career when Canada takes on Sweden in Sunday’s Olympic final. The Canadians defeated the U.S. 1-0 in Friday’s semifinal, and Bergeron remained on the top line alongside Pittsburgh Penguins forwards Sidney Crosby and Chris Kunitz.
Bergeron was held scoreless, but he did tally four shots on goal in the first period and went 7-for-12 in the faceoff circle. He also took a number of important draws late in the third period as Team Canada protected a 1-0 advantage. As expected, the Bruins center was one of Canada’s best forwards in Friday’s victory and did a tremendous job shutting down Team USA’s most productive line of Phil Kessel, James Van Riemsdyk and Joe Pavelski.
How Bergeron Has Fared
| Day | Opponent | Result | Stats |
| Feb. 13 | NOR | W, 3-1 | 0G, 2A, 2SOG |
| Feb. 14 | AUT | W, 6-0 | 0G, 0A, 2SOG |
| Feb. 16 | FIN | W, 2-1 | 0G, 0A, 1SOG |
| Wednesday | LAT | W, 2-1 | 0G, 0A, 4SOG |
| Friday | USA | W, 1-0 | 0G, 0A, 4SOG |
Canada will play Sweden in the gold medal game Sunday.
——–
Tuukka Rask, Goaltender, Finland
Rask didn’t play in Finland’s 2-1 loss to Sweden in Friday’s semifinal because he was battling the flu. The team has not announced its starting goaltender for the bronze medal game against the United States as of this writing.
How Rask Has Fared
| Day | Opponent | Result | Stats |
| Feb. 13 | AUT | W, 8-4 | W, 4GA, 16SV |
| Feb. 14 | NOR | W, 6-1 | DNP |
| Feb. 16 | CAN | L, 2-1 | W, 2GA, 25SV |
| Wednesday | RUS | W, 3-1 | W, 1GA, 37SV |
| Friday | SWE | L, 2-1 | DNP |
Finland will play the United States in the bronze medal game Saturday.
Photo via Twitter.com/NHLBruins
