After spending the first 82 games shattering the NHL record books and racking up 65 wins, the Boston Bruins are set to begin their Stanley Cup playoff hunt Monday night.
Going up against the Florida Panthers, the Bruins have a few key members who may or make not take the ice at puck drop. Team captain Patrice Bergeron, who made an early exit during last Thursday’s regular-season finale against the Montreal Canadiens, remains questionable. On Monday, head coach Jim Montgomery also didn’t confirm whether or not go-to goalie Linus Ullmark would suit up for Game 1, either, insinuating that he’d be a game-time decision.
But regardless, the questionable health status isn’t deterring the Black and Gold from the greater picture.
“I guess all you gotta do, you gotta worry about yourself, you try to be prepared as best you can be,” David Krejci told reporters Monday, per team-provided video. “If you do your job, I think we’ve done a pretty good job in this room of just believing in ourselves. If you do your job, you believe the guy next to you is going to do his job as well. It’s same thing if Bergy’s in or Bergy’s out or any other guys out. Just try to be as good as you can be and trust the guy next to you.”
Injuries are far from unfamiliar territory for the 2022-2023 Bruins, having already navigated through it all. Yet with a top-of-the-line depth at Montgomery’s fingertips, perhaps the B’s — if necessary — can prove once again to be as unstoppable a force as they were in the regular season, despite whatever challenge lies ahead.
“I don’t have a definitive lineup,” Montgomery said, per team-provided video. “… The luxury we have is that we have incredible depth. And whoever ends up being healthy enough to go tonight, we know we’re gonna have a good opportunity to have success if we play Bruins hockey.”
The B’s and Panthers begin their first-round matchup at TD Garden with puck drop set for 7:30 p.m. ET. You can watch the game, following pregame coverage, live on NESN.
