Bruins reveal laundry list of injuries they played through in 2019 playoffs
By Matt Dolloff, 985TheSportsHub.com
The Stanley Cup Playoffs always comes with its own unforgiving brand of beating, which leads to all kinds of serious injuries. The remarkable thing is that players will play through just about all of them.
Of course, the Bruins were one of those teams soldiering through a litany of injuries that ailed some of their best players. It shouldn’t be an excuse for losing. They did take the St. Louis Blues to a Game 7 of the Cup Final, after all. It’s just mind-blowing to run through the sea scroll of injuries when it’s revealed shortly after the end of the season.
The Bruins revealed the injuries that their players dealt with during the playoffs on Friday. Some of them were obvious to this point, others were more mysterious. Here’s a quick rundown:
— Zdeno Chara: Multiple jaw fractures, pins and plates and wires used to secure it
— Patrice Bergeron: Groin injury suffered in Game 4 against Hurricanes, won’t need surgery (per Bruins Twitter)
— Brad Marchand: Sprained hand re-aggravated during scrimmage, groin and oblique injuries (via Joe Haggerty)
— David Pastrnak: Re-aggravated thumb injury during Columbus series (per Conor Ryan)
— John Moore: “Blew out shoulder” and broke his humerus against Tampa, still needs shoulder surgery with 4-6 month timetable for a return (via Matt Porter)
— Noel Acciari: Played through a fractured sternum suffered in the Columbus series, also injured his foot on a blocked shot (per Bruins Twitter)
— Kevan Miller: Fractures his kneecap during the final week of the regular season, re-fractured it during rehab, hopes to be ready for start of 2019-20 season (per Bruins Twitter)
In addition, Jake DeBrusk said (via Joe McDonald) that he “battled through” an injury suffered during the first round against the Maple Leafs. DeBrusk didn’t look like himself for most of the playoffs after taking a cross-check to the face from Maple Leafs center Nazem Kadri in Game 2 of that series.
You can add Matt Grzelcyk (concussion) and Chris Wagner (arm) to the list as well.
The most incredible post-Cup Final injury news, however, may be that Blues center Ryan O’Reilly played through a broken rib suffered in the second round against the Stars (per Stephen Whyno of the Associated Press). O’Reilly took over the final four games of the Stanley Cup Final and earned the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.
Let him be the perfect example of why there’s no excuse for playing poorly because of injuries. And to be clear, the players themselves aren’t making those excuses. It’s just the latest stunning revelation of the toughness it takes to battle for the Stanley Cup.
Matt Dolloff is a digital producer for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Have a news tip, question, or comment for Matt? Follow him on Twitter @mattdolloff or email him at [email protected].
