Bergeron suffered a moderate concussion and there is no timetable on his return.
Boston Bruins fans' worst nightmare became a reality Wednesday when general manager Peter Chiarelli confirmed a report that Patrice Bergeron suffered a moderate concussion in Tuesday's 3-2 win over the Ottawa Senators.
This is the fourth time that Bergeron has been concussed since the 2007-08 season. The last time was during the Eastern Conference semifinals of the 2011 Stanley Cup playoffs.
He missed the first two games of the conference finals series with the Tampa Bay Lightning, but was able to return for Game 3.
Chiarelli talked with Bergeron and said he is in good spirits and out walking, but annoyed.
There is no timetable for his return.
"Honestly, everyone just has to step up," Tyler Seguin said Tuesday. "He's such a big part of our team, big leader, obviously our definite best defensive forward."
Boston's two-way center exited midway through the second period after taking an inadvertent elbow to the head from Senators center Colin Greening in a scramble in front of the Boston net.
He skated off on his own power, went directly down the tunnel and did not return.
Bergeron finished with 9:06 of ice time (1:59 on the power play) with three shots, and winning seven of nine faceoffs (78 percent).
Coach Claude Julien was forced to make adjustments, moving Rich Peverley on the second line to center Brad Marchand and Seguin, while fourth-line center Gregory Campbell received time on the power play in Bergeron's absence.
Bergeron, the recipient of last season's Selke Trophy, is one player the Bruins absolutely cannot afford to lose for an extended period of time. Hands down, he is the team's most valuable and consistent player.
The alternate captain leads the club in points (31) and is tied with top-line center David Krejci in assists (21). His plus-23 rating ranks fourth-best in the NHL.
In the faceoff circle, he tops the league with a 61.5 percent success rate, above Chicago's Jonathan Toews (60.8 percent) and Nashville's Paul Gaustad (59.8 percent).
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Center Patrice Bergeron, right, celebrates as the puck passes Ottawa Senators goalie Robin Lehner as the Boston Bruins won 2-1 in overtime on Feb. 28.
"We know we're not going to fill (Bergeron's) shoes, and nobody is going to look to try," Marchand said. "It just means everybody has to pick it up a little more, and if collectively we can all play a little bit better, then hopefully we can fill his shoes."
Not knowing how much time Bergeron will miss poses some difficulty for Julien when it comes to playing veteran Jaromir Jagr.
Chiarelli speculated that Jagr could see time on the third line, but you'd think he'd be better suited on the top line with Krejci and left winger Milan Lucic and moving Nathan Horton down.
Or how about this?
Move Seguin to center the second line and have Jagr on right wing.
That's probably a long-shot, but anything is possible right?
Amanda Bruno can be reached at abruno@repub.com