His credentials as one of the top two-way players in the NHL and a quiet but influential leader in the Bruins locker room are well established by this point.
Yet somehow, the veteran center still keeps coming up with new ways to impress.
Coming into Sunday, the Bruins didn't know if Bergeron would even be able to play in Game 6 after he suffered an undisclosed injury in Boston's 4-3 loss in Game 5 on Saturday in Boston. But missing a game with the Bruins' season on the line was never a possibility as far as Bergeron was concerned.
"Ah, no," Bergeron told WEEI.com in Washington when asked whether he doubted he would be able to play on Sunday. "I [knew] I was playing yesterday."
And play he did. Although obviously far from 100 percent, Bergeron gutted out 19:41 of ice time, filling up the stat sheet along the way with an assist, four shots, two hits and two takeaways.
"He played well," Bruins coach Claude Julien told reporters in Washington. "He competed hard. He's not taking faceoffs because he's not 100 percent to take faceoffs, but he was good enough to play through this whole game and played a real solid game. It speaks volumes for this guy."
The biggest limitation on Bergeron was his inability to take draws. That was a serious blow to the Bruins as Bergeron is one of the best faceoff men in the league, but he did manage to get into the faceoff circle for one crucial draw.
Rich Peverley took over the faceoff duties on Bergeron's line for most of the game, but he was not on the ice when the Bruins were called for icing with 1:02 left in the third period. Teams are not allowed to change players after an icing, so with the season hanging in the balance on a defensive-zone draw in a tie game with 62 seconds remaining in regulation, Bergeron took it upon himself to take the faceoff and won the key draw against Marcus Johansson.
"Every time we talk about this player, there's always something new that comes up that makes him an even greater player," Julien said. "I think as much as he's extremely respected in the room, somehow he gained even more today."
Bergeron almost ended the game himself when he redirected a Brad Marchand shot off the crossbar 2:16 into overtime. He was inches away from a true Hollywood ending there, but it mattered little when Tyler Seguin came through with the game-winner just over a minute later. After everything Bergeron has done for the Bruins, it was the least they could do to pick him up this one time.
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