The Boston Bruins held their first practice ahead of Game 1 of the Stanley Cup playoffs Saturday and there were a few absences.
Patrice Bergeron didn’t practice at Warrior Ice Arena, nor did Matt Grzelcyk. Brad Marchand also left early, probably setting off a bit of panic for Bruins fans.
But head coach Jim Montgomery calmed those fears once practice ended.
“We’re just giving him extra rest,” Montgomery told reporters of Bergeron, per WEEI’s Scott McLaughlin. “He’s had a long year. Same thing with Marchy. Marchy wanted to give it a try (Saturday), and he didn’t feel — he had a little bit of soreness. So I said, ‘Get off the ice.'”
Bergeron left the Bruins’ regular season-finale win over the Montreal Canadiens early Thursday for precautionary reasons. Montgomery said he wanted to go back in but the head coach told him no.
Marchand also received some rest toward the end of the regular season. He’s said all year that he doesn’t feel his game is at 100% after undergoing double-hip surgery in the offseason and that he has another level to reach. If added rest helps Marchand reach that level, then it only would be good news for the Bruins.
As for Grzelcyk, Montgomery noted he was “sore” and did not participate in the scrimmage portion of practice.
“We knew it was gonna be a hard practice, so we were very cautious. Even Grizzy is a little sore, so he didn’t partake in the scrimmage part of it. Just precautionary,” Montgomery told reporters.
All signs point to the three being in the starting lineup for Game 1 against the Florida Panthers in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, which is set for Monday at 7:30 p.m. ET from TD Garden.
