The Boston Bruins will have captain Patrice Bergeron back in the lineup for Wednesday's Game 5 of their first-round series against the Florida Panthers.

The Presidents' Trophy winners hold a 3-1 series lead and can send their Atlantic Division rivals packing with a victory at TD Garden.

Bergeron missed the first four contests of the matchup. He exited during the Bruins' regular-season finale on April 13 against the Montreal Canadiens with an upper-body injury.

Boston head coach Jim Montgomery said Friday that he didn't regret putting the veteran forward in the lineup for game No. 82, noting the team wanted its roster regulars to use the last two regular-season contests to ramp up for the playoffs.

After practicing with his teammates Tuesday, Bergeron said his absence from the lineup was "frustrating."

"You want to be out there with the boys and battle and compete," he said. "You go through a full season, and you work hard to get to this point. ... Now we're here, and the boys have done a great job."

The Bruins have made the playoffs 15 times since Bergeron's debut season in 2003-04, totaling 181 postseason contests. The five-time Selke Trophy winner has missed only 14 of those games.

"It was definitely different," he said of watching the Bruins battle the Panthers from the sidelines. "It felt like it was a little bit more nerve-racking than when you're on the ice or on the bench, (where) you feel like you can actually do something about it.

"I don't know if helpless is the right word. ... I was cheering and screaming at the TV a few times."

Prior to Wednesday's clash, Bergeron amassed 49 goals and 78 assists in 167 playoff games.

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