Bruins’ Patrice Bergeron: 7 Fascinating Statistics

Statistically, out of the 292 selections in the draft, 130 players made their way into the NHL, with Bergeron compiling some of the best numbers in his draft class. At the time of his retirement, he currently ranks fifth in games played (1,294) and goals (427) while finishing second in assists (613) and points (1,040). Moreover, his career plus-289 rating puts him at the top of the plus/minus list, precisely a hundred points ahead of Joe Pavelski (plus-189). 

Although Bergeron is known for being one of the game’s best defensive forwards, he was always open to mixing it up and collected 494 penalty minutes. Statistically, that total is the 27th highest from the 2003 NHL Entry Draft. 

2. He Enjoyed Playing Against Craig Anderson

Bergeron played for 19 years in the NHL and scored a goal against 144 netminders. Surprisingly, even though the Bruins have a historic rivalry with the Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs, he tallied the most goals against netminder Craig Anderson from their modern-day rivals, the Buffalo Sabres and Ottawa Senators.

Interestingly, Anderson recently announced his retirement after 20 seasons and 709 games with the Senators, Sabres, Chicago Blackhawks, Florida Panthers, Colorado Avalanche, and Washington Capitals. However, Bergeron found a way to score on him wherever Anderson went, collecting 15 goals during his Hall of Fame-worthy career. Moreover, he also often haunted other netminders, such as Roberto Luongo (14), Carey Price (13), and James Reimer (11), the only guardians he compiled double digits against.  

Bergeron ended up scoring 29 goals against netminders from his draft class, including Corey Crawford (eight), Jaroslav Halak (six), Brian Elliott (six), Marc-Andre Fleury (five), Jimmy Howard (three), and Mike Brodeur (one). 

3. He Excelled Against the Senators, Struggled Against the Anaheim Ducks

Although Bergeron hangs up his skates with 1,040 points, he scored at most 79 points in a season and never collected more than 69 points against a single opponent. Even though he played 88 games against the Sabres, he finished his career with 62 points against the team, the third most besides the Maple Leafs (67) and Senators (69). 

Statistically, through 80 games against Ottawa, the former Bruins’ captain scored 29 goals and chipped in 40 assists. Ultimately, he played his best against the Senators, with the most goals against any opponent and the second-most assists. 

However, outside of the two newest expansion teams, Vegas Golden Knights and Seattle Kraken, Bergeron only scored seven points against the Anaheim Ducks in 23 games. Besides nine points against the St. Louis Blues, the totals against the Ducks are the lowest of his career against any opponent he played at least ten games against. 

Furthermore, he had three points in just nine games against Vegas and two in four contests against Seattle. Ultimately, Bergeron is among the few players to score a goal against all 32 NHL franchises. 

4. His Favorite Teammate Was Brad Marchand

Outside of stating the obvious, the dynamic duo of Bergeron and Brad Marchand was almost inseparable. Whether they were sitting on the bench discussing strategy, skating to open ice together, or donating their time to local charities, the duo’s chemistry is something fans will miss the most since it will be challenging to duplicate. 

Thus far, Marchand has 372 goals, with Bergeron earning an assist on 171 of those tallies (45.9%). Additionally, he’s collected the primary assist on 107 of those goals (28.7%) and 64 secondary assists (17.2%). 

Meanwhile, Marchand was always there to return the favor, setting up 190 of Bergeron’s 427 goals (44.4%). Statistically, Marchand’s contributions broke down like this: 123 first assists (28.8%) and 67 second assists (15.6%). Furthermore, the duo combined for assists on the same goal 110 times during their tenure together, with David Pastrnak the beneficiary on 43 of those passes. 

5. He Never Collected More Than 65 Points When Winning the Selke Trophy

Ultimately, hockey fans will remember Bergeron for moments like playing through significant injuries in the 2013 Stanley Cup Final and scoring the Cup-clinching goal in 2011. Whether they want to discuss his 400 goals, 1,000 points, or two Olympic gold medals, there will be an accolade that stands out above and beyond, his record six Selke Trophy wins. 

Although Bergeron began his career in 2003-04, winning his first Selke in 2011-12 took him eight years. Immediately after that initial win, he captured the award thrice in the next six seasons before retiring as the two-time reigning recipient. Interestingly, during the six seasons he won the award, he never scored more than 65 points. 

As it stands, Bergeron’s best season came in 2021-22, when he won his fifth Selke Trophy with 65 points, the 17th-highest total for any winner in league history. Statistically, his point totals during the winning seasons rank 17th (65), 18th (64), 19th (62), 23rd (58), 26th (55), and 27th (53) all-time. 

Additionally, 27 players have won the Selke Trophy, with just nine multi-time winners. Ultimately, Anze Kopitar is the only active winner with two and is the closest person to chasing down Bergeron’s historic six wins.

6. One of 20 Bruins’ Skaters With Four Goals in a Game

According to statistics from Hockey-Reference.com, the Bruins have never had a player score five goals in a game. However, there are 20 players with four-goal games on their resumes, including two from Bergeron. 

Besides Phil Esposito‘s franchise-record four four-goal games, Bergeron finished his career tied with Bill Cowley, Herb Cain, and Johnny Buyck as the only Boston skaters with two four-goal games while wearing black and gold. 

As fate would have it, he remains the last Bruins’ skater to tally four goals in a contest, which took place on Nov. 4, 2021, at TD Garden against the Detroit Red Wings. Outside of Pastrnak’s four-goal performance against the Ducks on Oct. 14, 2019, Bergeron had the club’s previous four-goal game on Jan. 6, 2018, against the Carolina Hurricanes.  

By achieving the feat for the first time in 2018, Bergeron became the first Bruins player since Dave Andreychuk in 1999 to register that many goals in a game. 

7. One of 12 Players to Win the Same Award at Least Six Times

When people think about NHL Awards, most fans will associate the Art Ross Trophy with Wayne Gretzky, who won ten during his legendary career, including seven from 1980 to 1987. Furthermore, the Hart Trophy as league MVP is also associated with Gretzky, who owns the record with nine wins, including eight in a row from 1979 to 1987. 

Meanwhile, the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy is synonymous with Alex Ovechkin, who has won the award nine times since its inception in 1998. And, of course, no one will ever forget how dominant Bobby Orr was, winning the Norris Trophy as the league’s best defenceman for eight consecutive seasons from 1967 to 1975. 

Now that Bergeron has retired, he will never get a chance to win his seventh Selke Trophy, which would have made him one of just seven players to win an NHL Award seven times. Ultimately, he is in a class of 12 skaters who won the same award six times. 

Besides Gretzky, Ovechkin, and Orr, players like Doug Harvey (Norris), Frank Boucher (Lady Byng), Jacques Plante (Vezina), and Nicklas Lidström (Norris) are the only players with seven or more wins with one trophy. Right now, Bergeron finds himself in a group that includes Bill Durnan (Vezina), Dominik Hasek (Vezina), Gordie Howe (Hart & Art Ross), and Mario Lemieux (Art Ross) as the only players in league history to win the same award at least six times. 

Historical Perspective

Ultimately, Bruins fans will remember Bergeron for decades since they watched an 18-year-old kid mature into one of the game’s most respected leaders. Whether players skated with or against the former captain, acknowledgments poured in from across the league as people wanted to pay their respects to one of the franchise’s most iconic players. 

Even though there are no definite plans regarding his future with the Bruins, he will most likely make appearances at TD Garden for ceremonies and fan events. As one of the most decorated guys to play his entire career in the Spoked B jersey, it will always be a welcome sight to see him in the crowd, bringing back so many memories of two decades of hockey.