As Patrice Bergeron has taken a bit of a beating over the last 10 days, it’s been fair to wonder where his teammates are and why they haven’t stood up for him.
It’s been addressed, and the Boston Bruins know they need to be better.
Bergeron had his nose broken on a nasty Filip Forsberg hit in the Bruins’ Dec. 2 win over the Nashville Predators. In Boston’s next game, a shootout loss last Wednesday over the Vancouver Canucks, Kyle Burroughs repeatedly cross-checked Bergeron, who was wearing a fishbowl helmet because of his nose.
The Bruins captain was particularly hot about the Forsberg incident, and was as visibly incensed as we’ve ever seen him.
Trent Frederic, a Bruin who is willing to fight, took some accountability.
“That Forsberg hit was pretty dirty,” Frederic told reporters Monday. “It’s hard sometimes, I don’t really get to go play against Forsberg, obviously, so I’ve got to go maybe hit one of their star players, like a (Roman) Josi maybe, is what I can do. When you see him out there, take a number and try to get him in the future.
“You don’t want to lose two points, but then again, it’s Bergy and we probably should’ve done more there, if I’m being honest,” Frederic said. “Anytime someone like that gets hit, we need to do something and make sure that’s not really our identity and that we don’t really take that.”
This isn’t to say the Bruins need to dial their game back to the way things were in the 1960s and ’70s, but their captain getting hit with cheap shots is something that should be responded to.
It seems that message has been received.
