TORONTO – Patrice Bergeron led all forwards in ice time in Saturday night’s loss to the Maple Leafs and played the final 90 plus seconds in the 4-3 defeat, but the 32-year-old center was spotted walking out of the Air Canada Centre with a protective boot on his right foot.
It certainly wasn't a fashion statement as many Bruins fans are probably hoping postgame, but instead it appears that No. 37 suffered some level of right foot injury after the hard-fought loss to the Leafs.
- MORE BRUINS: Report: B's leading candidate to land Nash
Bergeron walked out of the arena under his own power with the boot on his right foot, and there was no update from the Bruins on his condition as it wasn’t known until after team availability was over for the night. It appeared that Bergeron was hit in the leg with a puck during the second period that caused him some discomfort, but No. 37 still finished 19:15 of ice time, a couple of assists, a plus-2 rating, six shot attempts and won 15-of-22 face-offs.
So it didn’t appear to hamper Bergeron’s game against the Leafs as he was his typically excellent two-way self, but there’s also the possibility that the possible injury didn’t really swell up on him until after he removed his skates postgame. It will be telling to see if Bergeron is good to go on Sunday as the Bruins are playing less than 24 hours later in a 5 p.m. start against the Sabres at the First Niagara Center in Buffalo.
- MORE BRUINS: Sweeney engaged but waiting for the right move
The Black and Gold currently don’t have an extra forward on the road trip with them as they’re carrying an unwieldy nine defensemen with the addition of Nick Holden to a group that was already eight defensemen strong. So the Bruins would need to either play with seven D-men against the Sabres or call somebody up from the P-Bruins if Bergeron’s right boot is anything more than a precautionary measure after a tough game.
Boston Bruins
Find the latest Boston Bruins news, highlights, analysis and more with NBC Sports Boston.
