Boston Bruins forward, Patrice Bergeron, expected to return for Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals
There have been reports that the injured Boston Bruins’ forward, Patrice Bergeron, will be back in the team for the third game of the Eastern Conference Finals on Thursday, May 19th, against Tampa Bay Lightning.
Bergeron will be taking part in the final practice before the third game on Thursday. If he feels no pain and perfect in the practice session then the player is likely to be included in the team for the third game.
"Tomorrow morning, he's going to be on the ice", Bruins’ coach, Julien, said. "I have a feeling that at that point, there's going to be discussions on whether he's ready to go or not. I can't tell you right now whether he's in or not. That's being honest. He's certainly inching closer to making a return as long as there's no setbacks".
The Bruins were not seen on ice this Wednesday as they preferred resting. However, four days before the rest day, they were training fully and working hard.
Julien said that Bergeron was involved in some of the drills during the four-day training but didn’t take part in the complete training.
In addition to this, he said that Bergeron passed the fitness test on Tuesday which was assessed on the basis of his performance and body condition, after the drills.
Bergeron came across a severe concussion that has ruled him out of action for 12 days now. He sustained the injury during the fourth game of the semifinal series and hasn’t been seen on ice since then.
Even though he has been declared fit to play by the coaches, there is still a medical scan that will take place before he is declared 100% fit to be involved in a competitive game.
"He feels his conditioning is right on", Julien said. "In skating practices, he doesn't feel winded or anything like that".
Now that it is certain that he will be playing, the Bruins lineup is going to get strong as he joins players like Mark Recchi and Brad Marchand to strengthen the central-line.
Even though Tyler Seguin replaced him, he will not be going out due to the brilliant performance he exhibited in the second game.
The likely player to be taken off for Bergeron is going to be a defensive player, either Shawn Thornton, Gregory Campbell or Daniel Paille.
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