Bruins ‘Optimistic’ About Patrice Bergeron’s Recovery From Concussion, Still No Timetable for Center’s Return

by

May 13, 2011

BOSTON — The Bruins continued their preparation for the Eastern Conference final with another practice Friday at TD Garden, and they did it once again without center Patrice Bergeron.

Bergeron remains out indefinitely with what has been diagnosed as a mild concussion suffered when hit by Philadelphia's Claude Giroux early in the third period of Boston's Game 4 win to complete a sweep of the Flyers. It's been a week since Bergeron was injured and he remains off the ice, with the team offering only limited information about his status.

"I don't know if you guys share a conference before I get here to say who's asking the question [Friday]," Bruins coach Claude Julien joked in his news conference after Friday's practice. "I am getting asked that question every day and I do think he's improving."

Julien declined to offer specifics in how Bergeron is progressing and the timetable for his potential return remains unknown, other than the fact that the Bruins' leading playoff scorer will definitely not be available when the conference final against Tampa Bay opens Saturday night at the Garden.

"We're optimistic about him," Julien said. "As [general manager] Peter [Chiarelli] said [last Saturday], we knew he was going to miss the start of the series. How much he's going to miss, I can't tell you right now. But he's on the right track and we're staying positive.

"Again, I say that every day," Julien added. "I'm not going to say much more, because when it comes to concussions, you've got good news and you've got setbacks. You've got all kinds of things that can happen, so I'm not going to stand here and change my tune every day except to tell you right now it's going in the right direction."

Previous Article

Celtics Mailbag: Danny Ainge, C’s Face Franchise-Defining Crossroads With Rajon Rondo, Veteran Big Three

Next Article

Bruins Set to Make New History With First Trip to Conference Final Since 1992

Picked For You