The Boston Bruins will be without two core players in Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand for a little while.
Marchand was suspended six games for punching and high-sticking Tristan Jarry at the end of the Bruins' 4-2 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday night. He's eligible to return Feb. 24 against the Seattle Kraken.
Bergeron, meanwhile, is dealing with a head injury suffered when he got tangled up with Sidney Crosby and went hard into the boards in the same game. Unlike Marchand, though, there is no clear timeline when the captain will return.
"No, he's off again (Thursday), it's day-to-day," Bruins general manager Don Sweeney told reporters at Warrior Ice Arena. "(Head coach Bruce Cassidy) referenced, everybody saw, he slid into the boards and has a laceration on the back of his head. So we're just taking it day by day. No timeframe whatsoever. ..."
It's certainly not ideal to not have an idea of when Bergeron may return, especially in the absence of Marchand, but it's important to make sure Bergeron is fully healthy and healed as the Bruins head into the second half of their season.