Patrice Bergeron is good to go.
The Bruins captain suffered a head laceration when fell into the boards in Boston’s 4-2 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins last week. Bergeron missed the next three games, but returned to practice Monday.
Head coach Bruce Cassidy said the plan was for Bergeron to join the team in New York for Wednesday’s practice, and if everything checked out OK, he would return to the lineup.
And that seems to be the case.
“Looked good, ready to go. So he should be in (Thursday),” Cassidy told reporters, per team-provided video. “Obviously we’ll have to take a forward out, we’ll make that decision (Thursday), but right now he’ll go in, play with (Taylor) Hall and (David Pastrnak) and then (Erik) Haula will drop down. So we’ll keep the (Charlie) Coyle line together, we’ll sort out our third line, go from there.”
It’s no surprise Cassidy wants to keep Coyle, Craig Smith and Trent Frederic together given how well they’ve played over the last two games.
As for Bergeon, he revealed he did not have a concussion, but everyone just wanted to take extra precautions before he hit the ice again.
“When I hit my head on the boards when I got tangled up with (Sidney Crosby), I got a laceration in the back of my head, and I needed some time to get some stitches and it was swollen, so it needed some time to get back, I guess,” Bergeron told reporters, per team-provided video.
“I thought I was fine until I saw the cut,” he added. “I think it’s one of those things, you hit your head you always ask yourself many questions, I’ve been through it before. Everything felt fine. … It was more a matter of taking the time with the cut, also with the team as well, and the trainers wanted to make sure everything was back to normal before I was heading back on the ice for games.
“I think it’s more a matter of taking care of that cut and taking the time for the swelling to go down. Extra precaution on the doctor’s part, I appreciate that.”
Bergeron certainly will provide a much-needed boost to the Bruins’ lineup when they take on the New York Islanders on Thursday night at 7:30 p.m. ET.
