Word came out earlier today that Patrice Bergeron, who is still dealing with post-concussion symptoms stemming from a questionable Randy Jones hit on October 27th, has been denied a Game 4 return by his neurologist. Bergy is said to be progressing very well and is taking some pretty big hits in practice, but after just being cleared for contact drills about a week ago, doctors are erring on the side of caution. If you've seen even 5 minutes of the first three games between the B's and Habs, you know that this has been an incredibly physical series; I agree that there's no need to play Bergy and possibly risk unforeseen setbacks unless he's totally ready. No timetable has been set for Patrice's return, but expect them to revisit the possibility if the series goes to 7 games (and definitely if the B's make it past the first round).

With Claude Julien deciding to bench future star Phil Kessel (props to Boston.com's Fluto Shinzawa, who deduced that Kessel averaged just 1 hit landed for every 7.5 games he appeared in), it would have been nice to have a proven, goal-scoring playmaker in the lineup in his place, even if said playmaker isn't quite performing at 100%. Ultimately, the man's health comes first and if I were you, I'd take the word of the licensed doctors over the protestations of some overzealous fans. I guess we'll just have to hope the current roster's good enough to get the job done and that Patrice will be good to go if we make it to Round 2.