The Bruins will activate center Patrice Bergeron off injured reserve in advance of their game today against Nashville, head coach Bruce Cassidy told reporters including NHL.com’s Amalie Benjamin (Twitter link). Center Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson will cede his place in the lineup.
Bergeron had missed the last 16 games due to a rib and sternoclavicular injury sustained last month. The Bruins fared relatively well in his absence, posting a 9-6-1 record despite having several other key regulars out of the lineup as well and are still holding down a playoff position. Despite missing that much time, he still sits fourth on the team in scoring with 26 points (9-7-26) in just 19 games; his 1.37 point per game average ranks tied for sixth league-wide.
Boston’s top six is still not at full strength, however, as winger Jake DeBrusk is still dealing with a concussion. While the Bruins are believed to be looking to add a top-six forward between now and the trade deadline, GM Don Sweeney hasn’t had the luxury of having their full top six intact very often this season so he may want to wait until DeBrusk is also back and assess how things go after that before deciding when to pull the trigger on a trade.
The Bruins were carrying just 21 players on their active roster so they will not need to make any corresponding roster moves in order to activate Bergeron.
Good, the B’s need all the help they can get
Two goals so far for Frenchy, first game back, VIVA LA BERGERON!!!!