While players may tell you they’re not aware of certain things like stats, standings, milestones, etc… everyone on the Bruins bench Monday night knew what was to come with Patrice Bergeron’s next goal or assist.
That was evident when Brad Marchand beat Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy for the Bruins fourth of five goals. A goal assisted by Bergeron, his 1,000th career point.
The Bruins bench emptied akin to winning a Stanley Cup, —sticks and gloves remained intact-- surrounding Bergeron along the boards to celebrate his achievement.
"Obviously, it was something we've talked about the last number of days and even throughout the year because we knew it was coming,” said Marchand. “It's an incredible milestone. It just adds to his career and everything he's accomplished. He's done so much."
The play was a bit of a hectic one. A traditional Bergeron tape-to-tape pass that Marchand deposits into the opposing goal would have made any attempt to figure out who assisted on the goal much easier.
But on this play, that was not the case.
“I just saw [Marchand’s] reaction. That's when I kind of realized that I touched it. So I got it. Yeah, it was a kind of surreal moment,” Bergeron said. “It was cool to see everyone jump on like that, and very thankful for all those guys. A big part of what makes it fun to play this game.”
Bergeron embodies what it means to be a Boston Bruin, the reaction of the rest of the Bruins roster and their pure enjoyment to be apart of such a special moment says it all.
“That was probably the most special thing about it, to have all the guys jump on and share that with them,” Bergeron said. “Definitely something I’ll remember for a long time.”
In what is likely Bergeron’s final season, the center has not missed a beat, showing no signs of slowing down any time soon.
With his 1,000th point, Bergeron joins Ray Bourque, Johnny Bucyk and Phil Esposito as the only Bruins to reach this mark. Bergeron becomes the 95th player in NHL history to do so.
To make the night even more special for Bergeron, the Bruins skated to a 5-3 victory, their 17th in 19 contests.
The Lightning came out flying, registering the game’s first nine shots on goal, shortly scoring thereafter on their 10th shot of the game.
David Krejci tied the game later in the first period before the Bruins exploded with three second period goals. Linus Ullmark was once again outstanding, making 32 saves.
The Bruins victory did come at a cost as Trent Frederic left the game with an upper-body injury and has been labeled as day-to-day.
Boston Bruins Blogger • 
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