Patrice Bergeron. Jamie Sabau-USA TODAY Sports

Bruins captain unlikely to return until Game 5 vs. Panthers

Originally posted on Daily Faceoff | By Mike Gould | Last updated 4/21/23

The Boston Bruins have been without team captain Patrice Bergeron for the first two games of their Eastern Conference quarterfinal playoffs series against the Florida Panthers, and it doesn’t look like he’ll return to action until Game 5 at the earliest.

Bergeron, 37, hasn’t played since the Bruins’ regular-season finale against the Montreal Canadiens on April 13, from which he made an early exit with an upper-body injury.

Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery told reporters on Friday that Bergeron is “likely” to return to the lineup in time for Game 5, with Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman subsequently indicating that the veteran forward did not travel to Florida with his teammates.

Game 3 of the series is slated for Friday night at FLA Live Arena with the Bruins and Panthers tied at one win apiece. Friedman also indicated that Bruins starting goaltender Linus Ullmark will be a game-time decision on Friday.

The captain did not travel to FLA https://t.co/nEDKxxO57q
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) April 21, 2023

Playing in his third season as Bruins captain, Bergeron finished third in team scoring with 58 points (27 goals, 31 assists) in 78 games this past year.

The five-time Frank J. Selke Trophy winner has spent his entire NHL career with the Bruins and scored his 1,000th point with the club during the 2022–23 regular season. Through 19 seasons and 1,294 games with the Bruins, Bergeron has collected 427 goals and 1,040 points.

Bergeron is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer upon the conclusion of his bonus-laden one-year contract with the Bruins. The six-foot-one center commanded a $1.5M salary and a $1M signing bonus for the 2022–23 season, with an additional $2.5M in performance bonuses set to carry over under the Bruins’ 2023-24 salary cap limit.

It remains to be seen whether Bergeron will be able to ride off into the sunset this summer after capturing a second Stanley Cup championship, but the Bruins will have to get past the Panthers first. You’ll be able to watch Game 3 between the two teams at 7:30 p.m. ET on Friday.

This article first appeared on Daily Faceoff and was syndicated with permission.

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