USATSI

Patrice Bergeron is the latest Boston Bruins player heading to injured reserve after suffering an upper body injury during the team's loss to the Dallas Stars last Friday that will sideline him for at least a month. 

Bergeron's injury was the result of a hit from Stars forward Radek Faksa. The Bruins announced the news on Tuesday afternoon, saying that Bergeron sustained "a rib and sternoclavicular injury" and will be re-evaluated in four weeks.

Here's the play in which Bergeron suffered the injury:

Bergeron, 33, returned to finish that game against the Stars but was clearly in a considerable amount of pain. He didn't travel with the team to Arizona after the game, instead heading back home to Boston to undergo further evaluation.

Losing Bergeron is a huge blow for Boston; the four-time Selke winner centers their top line -- undeniably one of the league's best -- and is one of the league's best two-way forwards. Through 19 games this season, Bergeron's 26 points (nine goals and 17 assists) are a team-high and have him tied for seventh in scoring across the NHL.

His absence will be especially damaging considering how banged up the Bruins were before his injury, especially on the defensive end. Boston's captain and top-pairing defenseman Zdeno Chara is also sidelined for approximately four-to-six weeks with a knee injury, while other defensemen like Brandon Carlo, Charlie McAvoy, John Moore, Kevan Miller and Urho Vaakanainen are all currently battling injuries as well.

The Bruins have also struggled to find much offensive help behind their top line trio of Bergeron, Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak. Those three have combined for 32 of the Bruins' 58 goals (55 percent) this season.

The Bruins came into the season with lofty expectations and hoped to hang near the top in a power-packed Atlantic division, but their health issues have been a major concern thus far. They currently sit fifth in the Atlantic with 25 points through the first quarter pole.