Bruins’ Seidenberg sits out tonight’s Rangers game

The Boston Bruins must face the New York Rangers without key defenseman Dennis Seidenberg in Wednesday’s Rivalry Week match on NBC Sports Network, according to CSNNE.com’s Joe Haggerty.

“The Pain Sponge” is suffering from a lower-body injury. He didn’t divulge the details to Haggerty when asked earlier today:

“I’m a game-time decision,” Seidenberg said. “Top secret stuff. It’s not a big issue at all, but you don’t want it to turn into something that could become a two-week thing in such a short season.”

The 31-year-old German often gets overshadowed – one almost imagines literally – by Zdeno Chara, but the numbers indicate that he’s a crucial defenseman for Boston. He’s averaged right around 24 minutes per night the last couple seasons, regularly only less than the 35-year-old Czech’s time on ice.

On the bright side, Seidenberg said it shouldn’t be too serious, but he’s being confidential enough that it’s unclear if that means more games missed after tonight. (The other bright side: Brad Marchand is playing.)

You can check out how the Bruins fare in his absence as the game’s about to kick off as of this writing.

If you want to know why he’s called “The Pain Sponge,” observe this quick gallery of him absorbing punishment and/or laying on the ice:

(via AP)

(Also via AP)

(It’s believed those are his legs, via Getty)

(Getty)

Before you feel too bad about him, there’s also this photo via Getty: