How has the added workload affected Patrice Bergeron?

ANAHEIM – I’m not a big believer in analytics, especially in hockey.

Yes, those crazy little numbers do serve a purpose. The way I see it, the two best stats in any sport are the two on either side of the nose. A former MLB general manager, who was both a major advocate for analytics and a huge hockey fan, once told me it took baseball nearly 15 years before the numbers on paper translated onto the field. He added that hockey is a sport that’s too fast for similar analytics.

Completely agree.

Why is this important in regards to the Boston Bruins and the team’s 4-2 loss to the Anaheim Ducks Wednesday night at Honda Center? There are some numbers that are concerning for the Bruins.

77: That’s how many man games lost the Bruins have dealt with already.

9: How many games Patrice Bergeron has played more than 20 minutes.

In the first 17 games of the 2016-17 season, Bergeron played 20 or more minutes only twice. Through the first 17 games this season, he’s reached 20 minutes per game nine times. In fact, it took him until game No. 32 last season to reach 10 games with 20 minutes per.

It’s solely out of necessity coach Bruce Cassidy is running his alternate captain out there that much. There hasn’t been one game this season that the Bruins have had their full complement of players due to injuries. The balanced lineup Cassidy thought he would have has yet to come to fruition. Bergeron would have played more than 20 minutes against the Ducks, but since the game was out of hand in the third, his minutes were limited in order to prepare for the Kings on Thursday.

The team hasn’t been scoring, so Cassidy decided it would be best to load up the top line with Brad Marchand, Bergeron and David Pastrnak. That changed since Marchand has missed three of the last five games with a concussion.

Also, you must remember Bergeron missed the first five games of the season with a lower-body injury that’s still bothering him. So, these minutes could eventually take their toll.

“It’s a little high for what we like,” Cassidy said. “Given the circumstances, we are forced to play him in more situations than if we were completely healthy. We are trying to win every night and trying to balance that so we aren’t taxing him for the long haul. It’s a challenge. Hopefully there will be nights where we get a lead and extend the lead and don’t allow team back in the game and he can relax, or we can get to the point where all four lines are trustworthy, doing their job and we find that balance. Yes, we are concerned but not to the point yet where we are going to pull back just to pull back.”

The challenge for the coaching staff has been trying to balance winning and not overtaxing Bergeron this early in the season.

“We do have to be careful. He’s playing a lot more, but that’s the situation in front of us,” Cassidy said. “Can you do that 82 times a year? I don’t think so because it’s going to catch up with him.”

In order for Cassidy to find that balance, the Bruins need better performances from other centermen, including Riley Nash, Jordan Szwarz and Sean Kuraly in all areas, especially on the penalty kill.

“It’s situational,” Cassidy said. “We can’t afford to, I shouldn’t say that, if we’re in a position to win the hockey game we’ve got to do what we can to put our best players out there, or whoever’s going (well) that night. What would be the best-case scenario is everyone’s contributing and you can trust everyone to get the job done.

“But, if that’s not the case you’ve got to shorten your bench and we’ll do that if that’s necessary. We’ve talked about it. We don’t want to go down that road every night, but we also want to get two points.”

It also helps that Bergeron has the best recovery time between shifts of any player on the team. He’s also smart enough not to bury himself with long shifts. He averages 40 seconds per shift.

“He’s not going to empty the tank and take half a game to get it back, so that’s a positive with a guy like Patrice,” Cassidy said. “You can rely on him to get back out there if you do have to short-shift him, because he hasn’t burdened himself in that regard. He’s smart that way.”

His teammates are fascinated with his ability to quickly recover. Bergeron will only smile when asked what’s his trick.

“I don’t know if there’s a trick,” he said. “The more ice time you get, you’re more used to it. I’m just getting used to it and I’m trying to be smart with my shift lengths as much as possible and try to control that when I can.”

Bergeron is all about routine. He doesn’t like to deviate from his rituals, but he’s had to learn to stay off the ice when not needed, especially this season. After all, he’s played a ton of hockey the last few seasons, including Olympics and World Cup. This season, more than ever, he’s foregoing morning skates, opting for his maintenance days.

“It’s about managing the time that you can actually take off and trying to figure that out,” Bergeron said. “The ice time has increased a little bit, and obviously you need to be fresh for games and have as much energy as possible. We’ve been trying to do that when we can.”

After Wednesday’s loss to the Ducks, the Bruins have 65 games remaining, so it’s going to be interesting to see how long he can keep up this pace.

“I feel good,” Bergeron said. “So far, so good. It’s still early in the season. Right now I feel good.”

Here's the game-by-game breakdown of Bergeron's shifts and time on ice: 

Oct. 19 vs. Canucks

Shifts: 27

TOI: 20:58

Average: 46 seconds

Even strength: 9:30

Power play: 4:15

Penalty kill: 1:02

Oct. 21 vs. Sabres

Shifts: 30

TOI: 19:58

Average: 39 seconds

Even strength: 15:59

Power play: 2:17

Penalty kill: 1:42

Oct. 26 vs. Sharks

Shifts: 28

TOI: 22:23

Average: 47 seconds

Even strength: 15:45

Power play: 2:32

Penalty kill: 4:06

Oct. 28 vs. Kings

Shifts: 28

TOI: 21:50

Average: 46 seconds

Even strength: 18:28

Power play: 1:49

Penalty kill: 1:33

Oct. 30 vs. Blue Jackets

Shifts: 33

TOI: 22:08

Average: 40 seconds

Even strength: 15:55

Power play: 2:36

Penalty kill: 3:37

Nov. 2 vs. Golden Knights

Shifts: 25

TOI: 19:43

Average: 47 seconds

Even strength: 16:48

Power play: 1:30

Penalty kill: 1:25

Nov. 4 vs. Capitals

Shifts: 26

TOI: 23:21

Average: 53 seconds

Even strength: 16:35

Power play: 5:37

Penalty kill: 1:09

Nov. 6 vs. Wild

Shifts: 24

TOI: 21:56

Average: 54 seconds

Even strength: 15:16

Power play: 5:44

Penalty kill: 56 seconds

Nov. 8 vs. Rangers

Shifts: 28

TOI: 20:39

Average: 44 seconds

Even strength: 14:44

Power play: 5:22

Penalty kill: 33 seconds

Nov. 10 vs. Maple Leafs

Shifts: 28

TOI: 22:49

Average: 48 seconds

Even strength: 13:21

Power play: 5:25

Penalty kill: 4:03

Nov. 11 vs. Maple Leafs

Shifts: 22

TOI: 20:26

Average: 55 seconds

Even strength: 14:21

Power play: 4:49

Penalty kill: 12:16

Nov. 15 vs. Ducks

Shifts: 22

TOI: 18:47

Average: 51 seconds

Even strength: 16:36

Power play: 2:11

Penalty kill: zero