It was as if Boston Bruins fans all held their collective breath Wednesday night when Patrice Bergeron headed down the tunnel clutching his face early in the third period.
Brad Marchand was right there with them.
"Obviously you're nervous when a guy goes down like that," Marchand told NESN's Adam Pellerin, as seen on the network's postgame coverage.
But less than two minutes of game action later, Bergeron emerged on the bench, ready to go back in as the team's medical staff intermittently checked his faced.
Bergeron took a puck, which deflected off a shot from David Pastrnak, that missed his visor and hit him directly in the face, leaving the Bruins captain in obvious pain.
But Bergeron, as he has done so many times before, gutted it out to help the Bruins put the finishing touches on a 4-1 win over the New York Islanders at UBS Arena.
Bruins coach Jim Montgomery was in awe of Bergeron's toughness and willingness to get back out on the ice after a painful injury. Montgomery also revealed that even though Bergeron returned, he isn't completely out of the woods with his injury yet.
"How much respect I have for him coming back after, I know the puck got deflected, but it hits him up high and in the face," Montgomery told NESN's Jack Edwards and Andy Brickley as seen on the network's postgame coverage. "The admiration I have and everybody has for him coming back to try to help the team win after that is immense. We're hoping that all the X-rays come back good."
Marchand might have said it best after the game when he told reporters it made him want to run through a wall after seeing Bergeron return.
The Bruins lace up their skates again in less than 24 hours when they take on the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden, and it wouldn't be a surprise to see a bruised Bergeron in the lineup if he's tests come back clear.
