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Bruins might face elimination without Bergeron, Corvo

Patrice Bergeron

If the 2012 playoffs weren’t already turning into the Summer of Upsets, then it would be truly shocking that the Boston Bruins being down 3-2 in their series with the Washington Capitals. Either way, the defending champs face possible elimination on Sunday, and they might just need to survive without underrated two-way center Patrice Bergeron and offensive blueliner Joe Corvo, according to CSNNE.com Joe Haggerty.

Here’s Haggerty on what might have caused Bergeron’s issues.

Patrice Bergeron left the ice early in his second shift of the third period after taking an Alex Ovechkin hit near the offensive blueline that appeared to catch the B’s center in the head. Bergeron waved B’s trainer Donnie DelNegro off when he attempted to approach the center on the bench following the collision, but the two-way pivot only played one more shift for the rest of the contest.

Bergeron looked sluggish and labored during the only shift he hopped out for as a right wing, and he once again ended the shift early when things obviously didn’t feel right.

The Capitals scored two goals in the third period while Bergeron was essentially out of action, so containing Washington could be that much tougher without that Selke-caliber forward.

Corvo isn’t necessarily known for being a great defensive stopper, but losing him likely wouldn’t help matters for the Bruins, either. Haggerty describes Corvo’s potential injury situation, too:

Joe Corvo went down in the second period after absorbing a Mike Green slapper to the knee that sent him down to the ice, and resulted in a goal when Corvo couldn’t return to the play. The refs didn’t blow the whistle when Corvo originally went down, and it essentially created a 5-on-4 situation when the B’s defenseman couldn’t get back into the play.

The Bruins and Capitals will face off in Game 6 at 3 pm ET on Sunday, so there isn’t exactly a lot of time for either player to recover. Hockey players are known to fight through injuries in the playoffs, but we’ll see if Corvo or Bergeron can fight through it.