APBOSTON - Patrice Bergeron broke his nose and had a concussion. After the ferocious hit he took from Flyers defensemen Randy Jones, the Bruins were relieved to find nothing else was wrong.
In Philadelphia’s 2-1 win over Boston on Saturday, Bergeron lost consciousness and was taken from the ice on a stretcher during the first period after he was hammered face-first into the boards by Jones.
Bergeron was transported to Massachusetts General Hospital and was diagnosed with a broken nose and a concussion by Bruins team physician Dr. Bertram Zarins.
Tests didn’t show any other serious injuries to Bergeron’s head or neck, and he was awake and able to move all his limbs, Zarins said.
Bergeron was injured while chasing a loose puck with Jones behind the Philadelphia net. The center absorbed the heavy hit directly to his back, hit the glass face-first and went straight down to the ice on his back. His eyes were closed and he didn’t seem to be moving.
Medical personnel cut away Bergeron’s jersey and shoulder pads as they worked on him, placing his neck in a brace. They placed him on a board and then onto a stretcher, his legs taped together and his arms folded across his chest. There was little sign of movement. The game was delayed some 15 minutes with 3:53 left in the first period.
As the whistle blew, Boston’s Chuck Kobasew went after Jones, drawing a two-minute roughing penalty. Jones drew a 5-minute major and a game misconduct.
“Words really can’t express the way that I feel right now. I am very apologetic for the hit and what I did,” Jones said in a statement released by the team. “It was not intentional. It is something that I have never done before and it is not part of my character. I am extremely sorry.
Bruins head coach Claude Julien called it “a dirty hit.”
“I’m not saying he’s a dirty player, all I’m saying is it was a dirty hit. We’ll just have to let the league take care of it ... and hopefully they will,” Julien said.
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Steve Downie was suspended 20 games after a hot to Ottawa forward Dean McAmmond’s head in an exhibition game. Then on Oct. 10 in Vancouver, Jesse Boulerice cross-checked Ryan Kesler in the mouth, resulting in a 25-game suspension.
The win snapped the Flyers’ two-game losing streak and handed the Bruins their first home loss of the season.
Biron yielded only a second-period power play goal to Marco Sturm and the Flyers moved to 7-3. One of Biron’s saves was a penalty shot by Phil Kessel.
The Detroit Red Wings equaled an NHL record with their 20th straight win at home, beating the Philadelphia Flyers 4-3 Sunday night on the strength of Johan Franzen's tiebreaking goal early in the third period.
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