Patrice Bergeron will not need surgery from the injuries he suffered during the Stanley Cup Final, he said Tuesday as he detailed the ailments he suffered in the Bruins’ title-series loss to Chicago.
Bergeron said he will be fine and ready to play when the Bruins open training camp in the fall.
Bergeron tore rib cartilage in Game 4 when he was checked by Chicago’s Michael Frolik, then broke a rib on his left side in Game 5. As a result, Bergeron required a visit to a Chicago hospital because team doctors were concerned about an injured spleen. He then flew back to Boston with his teammates the next morning.
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To dull the pain on his left side, Bergeron underwent a nerve-blocking shot prior to Game 6, when the Bruins were eliminated by the Blackhawks. He then separated his right shoulder during the first period of Game 6. Bergeron said he was trying to protect his left side and fell awkwardly on his right side to injure the shoulder.
Doctors gave Bergeron another nerve-blocking shot during first intermission of Game 6. Neither Bergeron nor doctors have determined whether the second shot or the broken rib caused the punctured lung. Bergeron said he felt his energy wane during Game 6.
After Game 6, Bergeron had trouble breathing. He went to Massachusetts General Hospital, where doctors discovered his lung had collapsed. Bergeron stayed at MGH for two more days.
“I felt like my chest was closing in on me,” Bergeron said. “The doctors didn’t want to take any chances. There is an X-ray machine here [at TD Garden]. But you couldn’t tell, really. It wasn’t clear enough for them. So they wanted to make sure.
“Luckily enough, they made the right decision. I went there right away and they found out my lung had collapsed.”
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Bergeron is close to signing an eight-year extension. It could allow Bergeron to stay with the Bruins for his entire career.