Bruins injuries: Bergeron, Moore sent back to Boston for further testing; Chara to be re-evaluated in 4 weeks

An already dire situation for the Bruins went from bad to worse Saturday night, as it looks like another two skaters are set to miss some extended time due to injury — including the Black and Gold’s most important cog up front.

Hours ahead of the B’s puck drop against the Coyotes on Saturday night, the team announced a number of injury updates — starting with the news that both Patrice Bergeron and John Moore will head back to Boston in order to undergo further testing for an upper-body and lower-body injury, respectively.

Bergeron went down with an injury Friday against Dallas — exiting the game for a period of time in the second period after getting slammed into the boards by Radek Faksa and appearing to injure his left shoulder.

Bergeron ultimately returned to the game but was largely ineffective, skating on the wing in order to avoid taking faceoff draws while failing to log a single second during overtime against the Stars.

Moore is dealing with a lower-body injury that he apparently suffered against Colorado on Wednesday, with the veteran defenseman unable to participate during Friday’s morning skate before getting sat down in the contest.

While Bruce Cassidy listed Moore’s status as “day to day” on Friday, Saturday’s news has to leave Bruins fans concerned about the severity of both injuries.

In additional news, the Bruins made official the news that Zdeno Chara suffered an MCL injury in his left knee during Wednesday’s loss to Colorado — with the B’s captain expected to be re-evaluated in approximately four weeks.

BSJ Analysis



At what point is one more injury going to prove to be too much for the Black and Gold to overcome?

We’re getting awfully close to the breaking point, especially given Bergeron’s state during the closing minutes of Friday’s game against Dallas. Not even being able to even take draws at the dot has to be concerning when it comes to Bergeron, who clearly is dealing with something pretty nasty in that left shoulder.

Shoulder ailments rarely repair themselves in a timely fashion, with Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews set to miss at least a month of game action after taking a check to his left shoulder against the Jets at the end of October.

So can Boston soldier on without their top-line center for what could be the foreseeable future?

The Bruins pressed on last year despite missing Bergeron for 18 games last season — posting a record of 11-5-2 without their go-to pivot. But the situation is much more dire this season, given both the number of injuries hitting the B’s all at once and the team’s reliance on its top forward line to shoulder most of the scoring responsibilities.

Of Boston’s 56 goals this season, the Marchand-Bergeron-Pastrnak line is responsible for 33 of them — with Bergeron on an absurd 112-point pace before going down with an injury.

So where do the Bruins go from here?

You’d have to figure that another Providence call-up is in the cards — with the red-hot Colby Cave a deserving candidate after tallying 17 points through his first 14 games this season with the Baby Bruins. Ideally, you’d like to see someone like Trent Frederic get a spin, but the prospect has been sidelined for the last two weekends due to injury.

But with a major vacancy up top, Boston is really missing Riley Nash right about now.

Boston’s penalty kill has been a bit up and down this season, and now will have to roll out a group without some of its regulars in Bergeron, Chara and more. Up front, look for fourth-liners such as Noel Acciari and Sean Kuraly to get added minutes on the PK with Bergeron out of commission.

Even with Fridays’ valiant effort by Boston’s D corps against Dallas, there’s no question that both Tuukka Rask and Jaroslav Halak are going to have their work cut out for them going forward — with opposing teams holding a 56 to 28 edge in scoring chances in the 101:34 of ice time since Chara went down with an injury.

While his numbers may not jump off the statbook, Moore has been a dependable addition to Boston’s defense, averaging 19:46 of TOI — including a sizable chunk on the penalty kill.

With just two of Boston’s current six starting defenseman 6-foot-0 or taller, the Bruins will also miss the size that both Chara (6-foot-9) and Moore (6-foot-2) provide, while Moore is a quite underrated with his wheels.

For a more detailed analysis of what to make of Boston’s D corps with Chara’s absence, click here.