Bergeron still turning page on Bruins' loss in Stanley Cup Final

LAS VEGAS -- Patrice Bergeron knows he and the Boston Bruins have a lot to be proud of this season, but he's not over how it ended yet.

The 33-year-old center is still understandably upset following a 4-1 loss to the St. Louis Blues in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final at TD Garden last Wednesday.
"I know we still have a great team and we have accomplished some special things," Bergeron said during NHL Awards Media Day on Tuesday. "Obviously, you come up short and in the first few days, you only see the negative. It'll take a few weeks to look at the big picture and there are a lot of good things that have been done this year."
Bergeron has been a finalist for the Frank J. Selke Trophy, given "to the forward who best excels in the defensive aspects of the game," each of the past eight seasons with the Bruins. He is looking to win it for the fifth time at the 2019 NHL Awards presented by Bridgestone on Wednesday (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, SN), going against Ryan O'Reilly of the St. Louis Blues and Mark Stone of the Vegas Golden Knights.
Las Vegas has historically been kind to Bergeron, but there have been few smiles on this trip. The reminders of what could have been are everywhere.
He feels it daily, his injured groin still sore six days after Game 7. Bergeron will refrain from most physical activity for the next three weeks, trying to rest an injury that nagged him at points during the regular season and throughout the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
"I need to evaluate [after three weeks] and [should] be good to go after that," Bergeron said. "I need to make sure the groin is not going to come back or be an issue as it was a little bit last year."

He saw more painful reminders of this season Tuesday, when he shared the same hotel ballroom with three members of the Blues; O'Reilly, still sporting his playoff beard, was the Conn Smythe Trophy winner as the most valuable player of the playoffs. Goalie Jordan Binnington made 32 saves in Game 7, keeping the Blues alive early while they found their legs. Coach Craig Berube used various matchups to make life difficult at 5-on-5 for Bergeron and linemates David Pastrnak and Brad Marchand, who combined to score one even-strength goal in the best-of-7 series.
Binnington is a finalist for the Calder Trophy, awarded "to the player selected as the most proficient in his first year of competition." Berube is in the running for the Jack Adams Award, presented to the head coach who has "contributed the most to his team's success." Doug Armstrong of the Blues is a finalist for the NHL General Manager of the Year Award.
"I think being here is the toughest part to be honest with you and being asked the questions," Bergeron said.
The awarding of the Selke Trophy, which Bergeron most recently won in 2017, won't heal any of these pains.
Time will.
The Bruins lost Game 6 of the 2013 Stanley Cup Final, allowing the Chicago Blackhawks to score two goals in 17 seconds, the second at 19:01 of the third period, in a 3-2 defeat that allowed the Blackhawks to celebrate at TD Garden. Those memories have dulled over time for Bergeron but have not disappeared.
"When we are done with the awards, I'm going to be able to turn the page with what has happened and be ready for a great offseason and a great season again next year," Bergeron said.

That is the message Bruins GM Don Sweeney has preached since Game 7.
"Right away, I wanted the players to know how proud we are of them and what they sacrificed, said Sweeney, who joins Armstrong and Don Waddell of the Carolina Hurricanes as finalists for the GM award. "It's a long process just to have that opportunity and they were so very, very close."
Bergeron will start to see the light soon, using the perspective gained from 15 NHL seasons to search for positives that will eventually have him arrive at training camp in September with a repaired outlook and a new-found hunger to chase another championship.
But for now, the pain from losing Game 7 lingers.
"This year is a little different, I'm not going to lie, with the way season ended," he said. "It hasn't even been a week yet. It's still hard to turn the page."