For Bruin's Bergeron, it's wait till next year

PatriotLedger.com - Nobody was more disappointed to see the Boston Bruins’ season end in the first playoff round than Patrice Bergeron.

If they’d reached Round 2, Boston’s injured center might have been able to start his season over.

“I was very optimistic,” said Bergeron, who didn’t play after Philadelphia defenseman Keith Jones’ blind-side check into the boards on Oct. 27 left Bergeron with a Grade 3 (most severe) concussion. “That’s what makes this even harder for me.”

Back on skates for two months and practicing with contact for the last two weeks, Bergeron was several times denied medical clearance to play in the best-of-seven first-round series against Montreal. He’s pretty sure he’d have received the OK for the conference semifinals – but not positive.

“I was pushing for the second round,” he said. “(Doctors) said ‘Let’s wait for the second round, and see what happens,’ but maybe it was to keep me smiling a little bit.”