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Peter Chiarelli: Patrice Bergeron has ‘mild concussion’, likely to miss start of Eastern finals

 05.07.11 at 11:25 am ET
By Mike Petraglia

Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli confirmed Saturday morning that Patrice Bergeron is dealing with the effects of another concussion.

Bergeron, who missed nearly a full year after a severe concussion when hit by former Philadelphia defenseman Randy Jones in October 2007, collided with Claude Giroux with 17:30 remaining in the third period of Friday’s Game 4 win over the Flyers. He did not return, and Chiarelli indicated he is likely to miss the start of the Eastern Conference finals against Tampa Bay, with rookie Tyler Seguin getting the chance to take his spot on the roster.

“Patrice suffered a mild concussion,” Chiarelli said on Saturday, before adding that he thought the Giroux hit was “a shade late.”

While the Bruins didn’t release any information on the particulars of the injury, it appeared that Giroux’s shoulder made contact with Bergeron’s head. Bergeron slowly skated off the ice on his own power to finish his shift but didn’t return. The Boston Globe initially reported Saturday morning that Bergeron had sustained a concussion.

Chris Kelly stepped up from his third-line role to center the line with Mark Recchi and Brad Marchand. Bergeron leads the Bruins with 12 points in 11 playoff games. The Bruins will play Games 1 and 2 at home this week against Tampa Bay, with the series possibly starting Tuesday or Thursday at TD Garden.

Read More: 2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Boston Bruins, Chris Kelly, Claude Giroux Print  |  Email   | Bark It Up!  |  Digg It
  • Frank Rizzo

    This $ucks, what terrible news.

  • Chevycowboy

    That sucks!! Just when the Bruins are starting to roll.

  • duggy

    time for some line juggling…seguin’s coming out party….he needs some play off experience…patrice will be back soon…bruins are still a better team than the lightning….

  • ace

    Cmon people, its a mild concussion, he’ll probably be back in game 3 of the series, chill the f out, the Bruins can still roll w/o him

  • timmyt30
  • Deano

    Patrice Bergeron is the best all around player on this Bruins team and they are going to have a much tougher time versus Tampa Bay without him. The Bruins should still win this series and I expect the Bruins to win this series. However, losing Bergeron should not be taken lightly.

    Bergeron not only lead this team in points in the postseason he was also bringing a lot of other skills to the game. He is easily the best face-off man on this Bruins team and whenever the Bruins needed a big time face-off win, he was the guy getting it done. Bergeron was the best forward on this team at separating his man from the puck to gain possession and did this countless times on the forecheck. Bergeron is by and far the most consistent forward on this Bruins team and his play throughout the regular season and postseason reflects this. He was the best forward on the penalty kill and lead the Bruins forwards in minutes playing on the pk. Bergeron is also an effective PP player as he does a great job of making passes and identifying the open player. The Bruins will sorely miss Bergeron on the PK versus Tampa because Tampa’s PP has been very hot this postseason. He was also playing very physical in the playoffs and was finishing his hits regularly. To see Bergeron go down for me is a major loss, and the rest of the Bruins team will need to step up their play in his absence. No one player on this Bruins team can replace Bergeron because he affects so many aspects of the game, the entire team is going to have to chip in. I believe the Bruins still have the man power and the talent to beat Tampa without Bergeron but it is going to be much more difficult without him.

    Tyler Seguin is no replacement for Bergeron at this stage of his career. Seguin has not been playing in the postseason because he struggled with the physicality of the NHL during the regular season. During the postseason the physical level of play is significantly increased and Tyler Seguin is not ready for this type of play. Seguin shows flashes of brilliance when given time and space but that is exactly what he will not be given in the playoffs. It is nice that the Bruins have a player like him available to step in and play but in my opinion Seguin is not physically strong enough or tough willed enough to be an effective playoff player at this point in his career. He certainly has the talent but he needs to add the will power and physical strength to play with the big boys of the NHL.

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