Bruins to get captain back for Game 5 vs. Panthers

Jimmy Murphy of Boston Hockey Now reports that it appears as though center Patrice Bergeron will dress in Game 5 for the Boston Bruins. Bergeron has been sidelined for all four of Boston’s first-round games against the Florida Panthers after sustaining an injury in the regular-season finale against the Montreal Canadiens.

Monday both head coach Jim Montgomery and general manager Don Sweeney stated that Bergeron would likely return to practice Tuesday morning. Bergeron did in fact skate with the team Tuesday and led the stretching. After practice he said that he didn’t foresee any issues keeping him from playing in his first game of the playoffs.

Boston will have an opportunity on Wednesday to eliminate the Panthers after taking both Games 3 and 4 in Florida. The Bruins will return home with an opportunity to punch their ticket to a second-round matchup with either the Toronto Maple Leafs or the Tampa Bay Lightning.

In other Boston notes:

• While it appears that Bergeron will return, Murphy tweeted that Montgomery told the media that David Krejčí will be unavailable for Game 5. Krejčí dressed for the first two games of the series in Boston but then was a late scratch for Game 3 and hasn’t dressed since. He struggled mightily in Game 2 of the series, going -3 and getting beat up in the faceoff circle. Not much is known about Krejčí’s injury, and Boston has been tight-lipped about it other than to offer updates on his status. NHL.com’s Eric Russo writes that Sweeney said that Krejčí is slated to undergo further testing, and an update could come after the team hears from the doctors.