Bergeron Returns to Practice, Eyeing Game 5 Return

BOSTON - Patrice Bergeron made his much-anticipated return to practice on Tuesday morning, skating in full with his teammates in preparation for the Bruins' potential close-out Game 5 against the Florida Panthers.
The Boston captain, who has not played since leaving the regular-season finale in Montreal on April 13, said after the skate that he is aiming to be back in the lineup on Wednesday night.

"Good, feeling good…felt good on the ice today," he said. "Today's a good day. We'll see Wednesday morning] how I feel. I'm not anticipating any setbacks. So, far so good."
Coach Jim Montgomery added that even though it was only a practice, the team certainly could feel a boost from having Bergeron back in the mix.
"It's always good to have him out there just because he's such a determined athlete," said Montgomery. "He's a perfectionist…I was talking to him during the year, if we have a game every two days and we get going would you rather be off in between and have a morning skate or practice and no morning skate.
"And he basically said no morning skate, because he just feels fresher at night and I said, 'We're only out there for 10 minutes.' He goes, 'Yeah, I just can't go half speed.' That's just not the way he's wired."
And that's exactly why it was so difficult to watch the first four games of the Bruins' opening-round series against the Panthers from the sidelines.
[Even though he was trying to stay as engaged as possible
, Bergeron was eager to be back in the battle with his Black & Gold brothers.
"You want to be out there with the boys, and battle and compete," said Bergeron. "You go through a full season and work hard to get to this point, so obviously you want to be out there. It is frustrating. That being said, now we're here and the boys have done a great job."
Bergeron acknowledged that it was far more difficult to watch than it is to be on the ice.
"It was definitely different," said Bergeron,
who was texting assistant coach Chris Kelly his thoughts on the games in Florida as he watched from home
. "It felt like it was a bit more nerve-wracking than when you're on the ice, on the bench...you can actually do something about it. I don't know if helpless is the right word, but you'd like to be out there and help the guys a little bit more.
"Throwing texts and trying to see a few things - I don't know if that actually did anything - but that being said, I was cheering and screaming at the TV a few times."
Bergeron added that he was thoroughly impressed with how his teammates performed despite being without the club's top two centers with David Krejci also sidelined by injury.
"It's great," said Bergeron. "I think it speaks to the depth of our team and guys really stepping up and playing for each other and sticking to our details and our structure and our process. I say that a lot, but it's true. Kudos to them for doing that job, and obviously a big one [Wednesday] and a lot of work in front of us as we know. We have to take it a game at a time."
Bergeron, likewise, said he is taking his health day by day and is not sure if the undisclosed ailment will be something he has to manage the rest of the postseason.
"That's a good question," he said. "I think one of those things where you're trying to get back as quickly as possible but at the same time, you're trying to be smart. The training staff has done a tremendous job...I'm just taking it day by day."

The 37-year-old said that while it has been distressing to miss out on playoff hockey, he would not have changed how the Bruins handled the final week of the regular season, which included playing a full lineup in the last two games against Washington and Montreal.
"It's frustrating but at the same time, you have no control over [injuries]," he said. "There is a plan in place. I missed four games [over the final few weeks] to heal bumps and bruises [from] the year, and Monty has discussed what he wanted for the last week, and he wanted the full lineup to be against Washington and Montreal.
"It's a coincidence to have Montreal as the last game. If it were to be any other game, I would have been in the lineup, as everyone else was in the lineup for that game, as you saw.
"It's unfortunate but that could have happened the week before or that could have happened last week, so it's just one of those things."
During Tuesday's practice, Bergeron returned with a different set of wingers by his sides. Instead of Jake DeBrusk and long-time linemate Brad Marchand, it was Tyler Bertuzzi and David Pastrnak flanking the five-time Selke Trophy winner."I've said it many times, I have so much respect and so much chemistry with Brad, but with that being said, I can play with anyone, I would play with anyone," said Bergeron. "I think the guys have so much talent and whoever is on my left side or my right side on this team, it doesn't really matter.
"The depth is there, and you have to do your job and I think it's about bringing what you can bring to the table no matter who is alongside you."
Bergeron also had high praise for the way Marchand stepped in and filled the leadership void with him and Krejci out of the lineup.
"No surprises there for me, I've seen him evolve over the years and become the player he is but also the person he is now, and the leader as you said," said Bergeron. "Whether it's leading by example but also speaking up when it's the right time, I think he's grown into that role and I'm not surprised. I think he sees that there's bigger things at stake, and there's more important things for us as a team and individually.
"We've got to put the egos aside. I think he understands that. He's always a great performer in playoffs and stepping up and being a leader on and off the ice. It's the same thing again right now."

Ullmark in the Fray

Linus Ullmark received quite a few texts from family and friends on Sunday evening after his tussle with Florida forward Matthew Tkachuk at the end of Game 4.
But the most important one came from his mom.
"My mom was the first one to respond and ask what happened," said Ullmark. "She hasn't seen me like that…I spoke the truth to her. You can't lie to mom."
Ullmark received a 10-minute misconduct after throwing his glove, blocker, and mask to the ice as he shouted at Tkachuk following a scrum around the Boston net in the closing minutes of Boston's 6-2 win that led to 52 minutes in penalties.
"Things happen so fast and so quickly," said Ullmark. "You have everybody trying to stick up for each other and I tried to do the same there at the end as well. It's not something that I'm actively seeking out, especially late in games like that. If it was a 3-2 game, I wouldn't have done anything. It's 5-2, it's a little different feeling to it."
When it comes to any potential ailments he's been dealing with, Ullmark said, simply, ""I feel great, thanks."

Wait, There's More

Tuesday's Practice Lineup

FORWARDS
Tyler Bertuzzi - Patrice Bergeron - David Pastrnak
Brad Marchand - Charlie Coyle - Nick Foligno
Taylor Hall - Pavel Zacha - Jake DeBrusk
Jakub Lauko - Tomas Nosek - Garnet Hathaway
A.J. Greer - Trent Frederic
DEFENSEMEN
Matt Grzelcyk - Charlie McAvoy
Hampus Lindholm - Brandon Carlo
Derek Forbort - Dmitry Orlov
Jakub Zboril - Connor Clifton
GOALIES
Linus Ullmark
Jeremy Swayman
Brandon Bussi
Montgomery said that he does not know if Tuesday's practice lineup will be the same as when the Bruins hit the ice for Game 5.
"No, it's just for me to look at lines," he said. "I know what Marchy and Bergy look like. I don't know if that's going to be our lines [Wednesday]. I said, 'Marchy, the toughest part would be if I say Bergeron's line up, we're going to get too many men if you're not on his line.'"
Boston's bench boss echoed those sentiments when asked about Trent Frederic being an extra forward for Tuesday's skate.
"I'm looking at lines," said Montgomery. "I know what Freddy's done and I like what certain guys have done. I haven't seen Fliggy on the right side, potentially with a hard matchup.
"I just wanted to see what they would look like. I knew we had a couple of 3-on-2 drills, so I just wanted to see what those lines would look like that way."