Rumor: We now know why Patrice Bergeron played Game 82 in Montreal

The health and wellbeing of Boston Bruins captain Patrice Bergeron is a hot topic in Massachusetts these days.

Bergeron has missed Game 1 and Game 2 of the Bruins' opening round Stanley Cup Playoff series against the Florida Panthers in part because of an illness, but also in part because of an undisclosed injury. The thing is, Bergeron suffered the injury in the Bruins' final regular season game. A game with no real significance in the standings and with the no real stakes for either the Bruins nor their opponent the Montreal Canadiens.

Bergeron though, he's a Quebec native who relishes any opportunity to play in his home province. So Bergeron played in that 82nd regular season game, a meaningless game, despite calls from the team's fanbase for him to sit out and prepare for the post-season. After all, other teams around the league were resting their stars down the stretch and the Bruins had the least to gain and least to lose by resting its top players. They were going to finish top of the league regardless of how that last week of the regular season played out.

Still, Bergeron played and made it clear that playing in front of family in friends, in what may be his last season, was important to him and his family. Fair enough, right?

The problem is that Bergeron left that game in the 1st period with what's suspected to be an upper body injury. So yeah... the captain got hurt in a meaningless game. Just like fans predicted...

Now though, we're learning the full scope of things from Bergeron's perspective on that "meaningless" game and, frankly, it's heartbreaking.

This evening there are multiple online reports that Bergeron's father Gerard Cleary has cancer and that that "meaningless" game could be Cleary's last opportunity to watch his son play hockey.

Check it out:

Reaction from Jimmy Murphy of Boston Hockey Now:

Shukri Wrights of ESPN:

Bergeron has not yet confirmed his father's health through the team but with these rumors out there it's only a matter of time before he's asked about it by one of the team's beat reporters. Stay tuned.