Patrice Bergeron remains the gold standard for Bruins

It would have been easy for Patrice Bergeron to sit out Thursday’s 3-1 win against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden.

The Bruins’ captain took a puck to the face when David Pastrnak’s one-timer deflected off a stick in the third period of a 4-1 win at the New York Islanders on Wednesday. Bergeron left the game briefly, but returned moments later with his bloody nose plugged. He went on to record another 2:18 of ice time over the course of three shifts to close out the game. 

Pastrnak didn’t think that Bergeron actually returned to the game. 

“I mean, it’s crazy. Obviously yesterday it wasn’t a great moment sitting on the bench when Bergy had to leave,” Pastrnak said after Thursday’s win. “But [Taylor Hall] turned to me and said he is back and I kind of thought he was joking. Then I looked and I was so happy he was all right, and it wasn’t serious. But I thought [Hall] was joking, and I didn’t even look for [Bergeron] when [Hall] said he was back on the bench. I couldn’t believe it.”

Bruins coach Jim Montgomery said Wednesday that Bergeron needed X-rays, and remained mum on whether or not No. 37 would suit up against the Rangers, leaving the decision in Bergeron’s hands if he were to be healthy enough to play. 

Fast forward to Thursday at MSG, and there Bergeron was, starting the game and later scoring the eventual game-deciding goal in the second period. All the while, the 37-year-old center sported a black eye and bruising around the right side of his nose, helping the B's sweep their back-to-back in New York. 

Given how much of a cushion the Bruins have built up in the standings, the idea of load management for Bergeron, even if he felt up to playing, was valid, but was there ever really a doubt that Bergeron would play? 

“[Load management] is something that they’ve talked about, but, you know, those are decisions they need to make,” Bergeron told reporters postgame on Thursday.” That’s what I told them. They have to make that decision if that’s what they want.

“If they leave it up to me, obviously as a competitor you want to play. So, when it was up to me, I felt good enough to play.”

For Bergeron, it’s just another example of his pain tolerance. As is the norm of many hockey players, he has put his body through unfathomable rigor over the course of his career, playing through broken ribs and collapsed lungs, among other ailments that would have any normal human being bedridden. No normal person, Bergeron, who said he is feeling “all right” and “just a little sore,” knew he would be in Thursday’s lineup all along.

“Well, it was more making sure everything was fine, depending on the swelling and how it was going to feel today,” he said. “I was hoping that it was going to stay manageable, and it did. There were no issues for me on the ice.”

“No issues” seems like an understated assessment of Bergeron’s outing on Thursday night. He was arguably the Bruins’ best skater against the Blueshirts, picking up his 17th goal of the season and posting a dominant game-best Corsi-for percentage of 73.68, per Natural Stat Trick. With Bergeron on the ice, the Bruins out-attempted New York, 14-5 at 5-on-5 play.

It's another chapter in Bergeron's ability to play through pain, which is still not lost on the rest of the Black and Gold.

“An incredibly tough, determined professional athlete that we’re very, very lucky to have as our leader and someone who’s helped the Spoked-B be great for several years,” Montgomery said before the game on Thursday. 

Brad Marchand said on Wednesday, “He obviously looked like he was in a lot of pain. … Not surprised that he came back. If it wasn’t really, really serious, he was going to come back. 

“It makes you want to go through a wall when you see a guy like that come back, who will literally play through anything. … He could easily walk away from that and rest up for the next one, but it just says a lot about his character and who he is as a player and a captain. That’s why he is who he is.”

As for the idea of load management, it seems unfathomable to the Bruins, even during a run like the one they have been on. It’s just not in their vocabulary, whether it’s his own teammates never really doubting if he would actually play, or Bergeron himself, on pace for 31 goals in the midst of another strong individual campaign.

“No, I don’t think he wants that. I think we want him out there, and he wants to be out there,” Connor Clifton said Thursday. “I don’t think [there is any change to how we approach the back stretch]. I think our team is built for a long season and a long playoff run. The load management, I don’t think we want that, right? I think we want to play games, and we want to be in those situations together. That’s the kind of group we have.”