The Boston Bruins closed out their season with a locker room cleanout at Warrior Ice Arena on Sunday, and as expected, the full extent of their injury list finally came to light. It was a war of attrition for the Black and Gold, and several key players revealed they were battling through significant pain down the stretch.

While head coach Marco Sturm deferred to GM Don Sweeney on disclosing all medical details, several players stepped up and shared their stories. The laundry list of ailments reads like a battlefield report: Viktor Arvidsson played with a broken rib and a punctured lung; Hampus Lindholm dealt with a small foot fracture; his brother, Elias Lindholm, fought through a back injury; Pavel Zacha skated on a high ankle sprain; Nikita Zadorov tore his MCL "off the bone"; David Pastrnak revealed he had been nursing a groin tear since November; and Charlie McAvoy broke his hand in Game 2 of the series.

Zadorov's injury was particularly gruesome. He tore his MCL in Game 3 but didn't know the full severity until after the game. Initially wearing a light brace, he upgraded to a more stable one once the diagnosis was confirmed. "I don't need a surgery, I don't think so," Zadorov said. "I'm going to have a doctor's appointment on Tuesday. I think it's a PRP injection and should heal on its own. I think I got lucky there." By Game 6, he felt "really good" in the brace, a testament to his toughness.

Arvidsson, who missed Games 5 and 6, was targeting a potential Game 7 return. "We were aiming for Game 7 to see how it was going to feel," he explained. "I practiced twice, but no contact or anything. Skating was fine, but sudden movements with a broken rib are kind of painful." His absence forced Sturm to break up the second line, which had been serving as a shutdown unit. Without that cohesion, the Sabres' top line exploded, posting a lopsided 6-0 goal differential in the series.

McAvoy's injury was a quiet but critical factor. "I got hit in Game 2, and I just went into the wall weird, and I felt it," he said, reflecting on the broken hand that he played through. For a team that prides itself on grit, the Bruins proved once again that no pain is too great to keep them off the ice.