Patrice Bergeron the Boston Bruins' Glue Amidst Key Absences

Patrice Bergeron represented the resilience of the Boston Bruins for what seemed like the umpteenth time this young season Saturday afternoon.

With the deciding goal in a 2-1 win over the Carolina Hurricanes, the longest-tenured member of the franchise nudged into the team lead with 14 points on the year. Boston is now 9-2-0 when he contributes a point and is 2-6-0 otherwise.

That speaks to the way the Bruins have inevitably leaned on the longtime alternate captain to keep setting the precedent. They have had little or no choice of late considering who they have been missing due to injuries.

Bergeron has not quite been the quintessential two-way center that Boston values at all times. His status as a mere mortal has surfaced in spurts, particularly in the defensive zone.

But while he is not immune to fault, his occasional struggles were bound to happen. Fellow key cogs who assume some of the same tasks have been out of action, leaving Bergeron to shoulder an overload of weight.

More to the point, however, he has recompensed more often than not, particularly in the offensive zone. As a result, while some scoreboard lacerations have dried into scars, the Bruins had not lost more than two consecutive games in the last month before last week.

This was true despite the protracted absence of half of the club’s formal leadership structure, the only other healthy one-quarter being another alternate captain in Chris Kelly.

Zdeno Chara, the face of the team’s second layer of defense while Bergeron represents the first, has been out since Oct. 23. Boston has gone 7-3-0 in the 10 games since the towering captain sustained a PCL tear that night.

David Krejci, Bergeron’s fellow top-six center and the more offensively gifted of the two, has been missing since Nov. 6. Boston is 2-2-0 in that span, sandwiching two hideous road losses with a pair of come-from-behind home wins.

Last week's 6-1 and 5-1 falters in Toronto and Montreal, respectively, have been two of Bergeron’s more blatant blemishes. He was on the ice for an uncharacteristic three opposing goals each night, losing a cumulative four plus-minus points.

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But he compressed the wound, for himself and the team in Saturday’s matinee. He did it through a silent elasticity that returned him, his line and the Bruins in general to their pre-road-trip appearance.

As recently as this past Wednesday morning, CSNNE.com pundit Joe Haggerty made this observation: “Part of Patrice Bergeron’s greatness is the simplicity with which he attacks the game of hockey. He plays full tilt with maximum effort in all situations offensively or defensively, and that’s part of what separates a two-time Selke Trophy winner from the pack.”

Bergeron will employ that effort regardless of the conditions. But with no Chara or Krejci, he has surpassed the pack that Haggerty alludes to at a greater-than-average distance.

It is little wonder, therefore, that he and linemates Brad Marchand and Reilly Smith are accounting for so much of Boston’s offensive sustenance. For the record, he has a 3-7-10 scoring log in the 10 Chara-less games and a 2-3-5 transcript in the last four contests without Krejci.

With the generally consistent effort that has gone into that output, it is equally unsurprising that the Bruins have clearly rallied around it.

It is no surprise that the second line has been the offense’s one specimen of stability. Nor that the blue-line brigade has held up through the more noticeable help of the layer in front of it.

The gaping cavities in their lineup have tripped the Bruins up at times, chiefly because they are human. But Bergeron’s exemplary leadership is keeping them from staying down and submitting too many subpar efforts at a time.

It does not matter if Bergeron and Bruins have 27 hours to retool, as they did between Thursday’s final siren and Saturday’s opening draw. It does not matter if Bergeron and the second line have two to seven minutes to recuperate after the red light glares in their eyes.

In both cases, the 29-year-old center salved his own statistical slits and led the team to do the same. That has been the motif throughout the first half of November.

The Panthers, Devils and Hurricanes have all drawn first blood on the Bergeron line’s watch this month. But in each instance, the alternate captain has played a part in drawing a 1-1 knot or giving the Bruins an eventual lead.

After Seth Griffith’s unassisted equalizer, Bergeron tallied Saturday’s eventual clincher in the final minute of the first period.

The timing of that connection alone speaks to his start-to-finish hustle and bloodhound’s nose for an opportunity to manufacture momentum. A last-minute goal can be a backbreaker or a psychological booster, depending on who is on which end.

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Bergeron later drew the final power play on either side, sending Carolina captain Eric Staal off for interference at 8:19 of the third period. In between, he played the better part of an inauspicious five-on-three segment that lasted 103 seconds early in the opening frame.

The Canes could have augmented their lead no more than two-and-a-half minutes after striking first. Instead, they managed one unsuccessful shot on net during their two-man advantage, then one more at five-on-four.

Incidentally, Bergeron was on the Boston bench for those two stabs at goaltender Tuukka Rask.

After the fact, his speech was even more subtle than his resolve before and during. As quoted by The Patriot Ledger’s Mike Loftus, Bergeron offered, “Everything was a step in the right direction. It wasn’t perfect, but it’s definitely better.”

The individual performance marked a refreshing return to his pre-Canadian road-trip trend. Consider this staggering fact: Between Oct. 25 and Nov. 6, with Chara out and Krejci still healthy, Bergeron was in action for only one of Boston’s 12 defensive setbacks.

Since Krejci has gone down, Bergeron has been on the ice for eight of the last 14 opposing goals. But he has also had a hand in five of the Bruins’ last eight tallies, two of which have assured him an even rating in the last two victories.

By catalyzing every effort that has rewarded the club’s perseverance and limiting his time amiss through acrid outings, Boston’s future captain has only emboldened that inevitability.

Chara will be 38 this March and is under contract for three more years after this season. His injury is the latest reminder that his athletic prowess is not getting any stronger; therefore he may not remain Boston’s top minute-muncher through the end.

It is not unheard of for a fading former star who has worn the “C” over his heart to pass that letter to a teammate before retiring. If and when Chara agrees to such a transaction between 2015-16 and 2017-18, Bergeron, who is signed through 2021-22, will doubtlessly be ready.

For now, though, the player who seemingly never ceases to lead and perform beyond his years needs to keep ensuring that his reinforcement-laden team does the same. The sooner other individual Bruins and other units start to tangibly supplement Bergeron’s output, the likelier they will hold up.

Bergeron, more than anyone else, has offered the foundation for Boston to sustain a satisfying season, even through injury-induced hardships. It is on the others to grow through his guidance and help keep that foundation intact for 63 more games.

Unless otherwise indicated, all statistics for this report were found via nhl.com.