Patrice Bergeron deserved better end to his Bruins career

BOSTON — If Sunday night's loss to the Florida Panthers was Patrice Bergeron’s last game for the Boston Bruins, he conducted himself with class and dignity.

It should not have ended this way, but the Panthers were the better team and finished with a 4-3 overtime victory in Game 7 of the first-round series in the Stanley Cup playoffs. After the loss, Bergeron stood near the Bruins’ bench and hugged every one of his teammates as they exited the TD Garden ice. He then recognized the 17,850 fans inside the building by raising his stick in the air and blowing them a kiss.

“It’s a special city, a special fan base and organization, so it was just a ‘thank you’ for the support all year,” Bergeron said.

When Bergeron announced last summer that he would return for at least this season, it was obvious his teammates were motivated to win one more Stanley Cup for their captain. The Bruins finished the regular season as the best team in history and were the odds-on favorite to win the Stanley Cup. But, the Panthers took a page out of the St. Louis Blues scouting report from 2019 and dominated the Bruins in similar fashion. Florida was bigger, stronger, won the puck battles and frustrated its opponent en route to the victory.

This will go down as one of the biggest disappointments in Bruins history. Destiny came calling and the Bruins couldn’t finish the job.

“It hurts,” said Bergeron, who added he’s going to take some time and talk with his family before making a decision on his playing future. “Right now it’s hard to process anything. We’re shocked and disappointed.”

No one would have thought the Bruins would lose three consecutive games, especially in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Boston held a 3-1 series lead without Bergeron, who missed the first four games with a herniated disk in his back, which he revealed after the Game 7 loss.

“It’s definitely not something I’ll use as an excuse. It is what it is and everyone battles with a lot of things during the playoffs and it’s just unfortunate the way that it happened on a fluke play,” said Bergeron, who added he does not need surgery.

Teammates Brad Marchand and David Krejci were crying after the game, especially when Bergeron hugged them. The trio created a winning culture in Boston and helped the Bruins win the Stanley Cup in 2011. Together they made two more trips to the finals, in 2013 and 2019, before losing to the Chicago Blackhawks and Blues, respectively.

“It’s always an honor to play with these guys. It’s been over a decade, so it’s a special bond,” Bergeron said.

Marchand stood at his locker after the loss and discussed the overall disappointment in the first-round exit, but especially for Bergeron. Marchand said there are too many memories to list, but believes the friendship he built with Bergeron is special.

“Regardless of what he decides (on his future) our bond will last a lifetime,” Marchand said. “He’s like the perfect person on and off the ice. He’s an incredible leader, so driven and an incredible family man. He’s a great father, great friend and he thinks of everybody else first and that wore off on me a lot. It really changed the way I approach my day-to-day life, the way I approach the game. I’ll never be able to say enough great things about him.”

Now what?

Without Bergeron and Krejci the Bruins will lose an immeasurable amount of experience and talent down the middle. It will be a void that will be difficult to fill for Boston, both on and off the ice. Both players returned for one last shot at glory and this ending left many confused as to how it happened this way.

“It’s very difficult. It’s not the outcome you want,” Bergeron said. “It’s extremely disappointing, especially with the team we had. It’s not where we want to be. ... I’m proud of everything we accomplished with this group. It’s a special group on many levels with the individuals we have and it’s far from the outcome we wanted.”

Bergeron, and Bruins fans, deserved better.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Patrice Bergeron may have played his last game as Bruins eliminated