The Boston Bruins injury woes seem to be lingering. The Bruins are still without their All-Star center as they get ready for a three game west coast road trip, and right now, there is no end in sight to his absence.
After a disappointing loss to the Avalanche on Monday, Boston Bruins’ star Patrice Bergeron was not at practice Tuesday. The Bruins’ official twitter account tweeted Tuesday morning that Bergeron was the only Bruin not present:
Danton Heinen and Ryan White are taking part in practice this morning. Patrice Bergeron is the lone player missing.
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) October 10, 2017
The Bruins’ alternate captain has been dealing with a lower-body injury since the end of the preseason.
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Bergeron, 32, participated in Bruins’ practice Sunday in a non-contact jersey, but was ruled out for Monday’s game. Even though he left Sunday’s practice early, it was a good sign to see Bergeron back on the ice. The fact that Bergeron wasn’t even skating Tuesday does not bode well for his progression.
Out vs. Avalanche Wednesday
The Bruins will again be without Bergeron against the Avalanche as the two teams complete their home and home series in Colorado. Joe Haggerty of NBC Sports Boston tweeted the news Tuesday morning:
Patrice Bergeron out Weds vs Avs. lower body injury "isn't responding like we hoped" to treatment, but Cassidy hopes he can play this wknd
— Joe Haggerty (@HackswithHaggs) October 10, 2017
It appears now that the Bruins do-everthing center will have to wait even longer to make his 2017-18 season debut.
The silver lining in Tuesday’s news is that Bergeron will be traveling with the team on their upcoming three game west coast road trip. Additionally, Bruins’ head coach Bruce Cassidy said the team is “aiming for the weekend” for a Bergeron return as indicated in Haggerty’s tweet.
Boston plays both Saturday and Sunday against the Coyotes and Golden Knights respectively so we will see if Bergeron can suit up this weekend. In his absence, Riley Nash practiced on Bergeron’s line Tuesday morning, as tweeted out by the Bruins twitter account. Nash has been featured on the Bruins’ power play so far but has yet to record a point. We’ll see Wednesday how Nash does as Bergeron’s replacement.
Next: Bruce Cassidy tinkers with Bruins lineup
In the Bruins’ first two games of this season, we saw their rookies look like stars and then look like rookies again. They will need Bergeron in the lineup to remain consistent, especially given the preseason chemistry he appeared to develop with Anders Bjork.