The center will miss his fourth game with the injury that required a surgical procedure to clear up. Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said he hopes Bergeron can return to play against the New York Islanders in Boston on Saturday.
"We got bad news on that one, so he's out tonight," Cassidy said. "It was a bit of a curveball because leading into today we thought he'd be cleared, but doctors felt otherwise. It's not long term. We knew that going in. Now we're looking at Saturday. Hopefully things calm down, he's good to go then."
Bergeron, the Bruins captain, has not played since March 15, when he scored and played 20:09 in a 2-1 overtime win at the Chicago Blackhawks.
"It flared up the day before the Chicago game and obviously the infection grew," Bergeron said Wednesday. "I needed to fly back and take care of that, get surgery on it."
Bergeron needs to be cleared medically before he returns. He practiced Wednesday after skating on his own Monday, when Boston won 3-2 in overtime at the Montreal Canadiens.
The Bruins (39-19-5) were 12-2-1 in their past 15 games to move within one point of the Lightning for third place in the Atlantic Division.
"It's nice to have that challenge in front of you, where you know it's there and you can work towards it and find ways to keep climbing," Bergeron said. "It kind of pushes yourself as a team to get better, to get those points, and I think we've done a good job of that down the stretch and we've got to continue to do that."
Bergeron scored 45 points (17 goals, 28 assists) in 56 games this season, the final season of an eight-year, $52 million contract (average annual value $6.5 million) he signed July 12, 2013. The 36-year-old has said he will not decide on his future until the season is over.
