By Jordan Long
The Boston Bruins face the Columbus Blue Jackets at home tonight before heading on a 4 game Western Conference road trip. It is possible they will have center Patrice Bergeron back in the lineup. He hasn’t played since February 27th due to a broken foot. According to masslive.com, General Manager Don Sweeny said, “I think he’ll get back on the ice and reintegrate. We don’t have a definitive timetable. The x-ray and the scan and our doctors will set sort of a hopeful timeframe, but, again, that’s the healing process. He may join us on the trip here, but we’re going to wait and see tomorrow and see where he’s at.”
This is positive news for the Bruins. Bergeron is one of the Bruins’ best forwards. He scored 27 goals and 27 assists for a total of 54 points so far this season. Bergeron is valuable on all situations. On the power play, the Bruins can count on him to set up in front of the goaltender for tip-ins or rebound opportunities. Bergeron scored 9 goals and 8 assists on the power play. On the power play kill, his speed allows him to skate the puck into the offensive zone for scoring chances. He has 2 short-handed goals and 1 short-handed assist.
Bergeron is one of the Bruins fastest forwards on full strength. He skates into the offensive zone for scoring opportunities. If Bergeron doesn’t score, he feeds his teammates for them to light the lamp. They have been missing him in the lineup.
The Bruins should see how he progresses during the road trip. He must practice and skate with the team. Once that happens, the Bruins can judge when he will be back in the lineup.
They must be careful. He is a dangerous player for the Bruins because of what he brings to the table. They can’t rush him back too soon. If they do, Bergeron may not be ready to go. He should be back in the lineup for the stretch run to the playoffs even if it is not during the next 4 games.
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