Patrice Bergeron could rejoin team by this weekend

Out of the lineup for the Boston Bruins for a nearly a month, center Patrice Bergeron will hope to rejoin the team this week. Head coach Bruce Cassidy offered the update on his first-line centerman before Sunday night's game against the Buffalo Sabres, according to the Boston Globe's Matt Porter on Twitter.

According to the report, it's possible for Bergeron to be on the ice for practice on Wednesday as the team prepares for a three-game stretch in four days. Boston plays host to the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday night, but Bergeron is not expected to play until, at best, Saturday's home contest against Nashville.

The Bruins will play back-to-back games over the upcoming weekend. After their Saturday matinee against the Predators, the team will head to Raleigh, N.C. to take on the Hurricanes Sunday at 5 p.m.

Bergeron has not played since November 16 against the Dallas Stars, when he suffered a sternoclavicular injury stemming from a hit he took from Dallas forward Radek Faksa. Since then, the Bruins have gone 7-6-1, with five of those losses coming in the month of December.

In the meantime, the Bruins have been surviving with a pair of young centers to plug the holes down the middle of the offense. Colby Cave and Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson, both of whom started the year in AHL Providence, have been the fill-ins on the second and third line over the last month.

Cave has primarily handled face-off duties with David Backes and Joakim Nordstrom as his wingers, while Forsbacka Karlsson has settled into his role on the so-called “college line” with fellow youths Ryan Donato and Danton Heinen. All three came to the Bruins recently from the college ranks; Donato played at Harvard, Forsbacka Karlsson at Boston University and Heinen at Denver.

Related: Patrice Bergeron out at least four weeks with rib, sternoclavicular injury

David Krejci, who usually mans the second line center position, has since moved up to the top line with Brad Marchand and David Pastranak in Bergeron’s absence. Krejci has nine points in his last six games; Marchand and Pastranak continue to lead the team in points with 33 and 39 respectively.

Bergeron had 26 points in 19 games when he went down in November.

The Bruins have been especially plagued by injuries early on in the season. A game before Bergeron suffered his upper-body ailment, captain Zdeno Chara injured the MCL in his left knee. The 41-year-old has been sidelined since his left knee buckled during a hit on Colorado’s Carl Soderberg.

Related: Zdeno Chara expected to miss at least four weeks with MCL injury 

On December 13, the Bruins posted a video to Twitter of Bergeron and Chara skating and working with pucks at Warrior Ice Arena.

Second line winger Jake DeBrusk, usually Krejci’s linemate, is also still absent after suffering a concussion back in practice in late November. Defenseman Kevan Miller also remains on the shelf after catching a puck in the throat and injuring his larynx against the Toronto Maple Leafs on November 26.

The Bruins are back in action on Monday night as they take on the rival Montreal Canadiens on the road at the Bell Centre. Last time the two squads played was back on November 24 in Montreal when a late power-play goal by John Moore lifted Boston to victory.

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