COLUMBUS, Ohio — There’s nothing like being welcomed back from an injury with an injury. Patrice Bergeron returned to the Bruins lineup on Tuesday after missing two games, and earned a goal and some extra stitches, the result of a high-stick celebration by Brad Marchand that caught Bergeron under the chin.

But, even with the repairs, Bergeron was smiling after the game, a game he had been seriously hoping to play.

“I wanted to play,’’ Bergeron said. “I wanted to be out there. It’s always hard. It was hard to miss the last two games. I was kind of hoping they were going to let me get out there. At the end of the day, they have the last word. They’re doing that for me, too.

“They’re doing that to make sure I’m doing the right thing, we’re all doing the right thing. But I told them I wanted to play.’’

Bergeron was injured in a fight with Blake Wheeler on Thursday against Winnipeg. It’s something Bergeron does not typically do. So, Bergeron was asked, does that make you think twice about fighting?

“I don’t do it often,’’ he said. “I did it because I felt like it was a tough game the game before, and it was a big road trip for us, stuff like that. There were a lot of things around the decision or involved in the decision. I can’t have any regrets.

“When you play, things like that happen in a corner, can happen in front of the net, can happen anywhere. Unfortunately it was in a fight where I never really get involved with, usually, so it’s unfortunate but at the same time I can’t have any regrets. My intentions were good.’’

Bergeron had been labeled a game-time decision by the Bruins. By the time the puck dropped, he was in.

“After this morning, we talked about it. There was always the possibility here of a risk factor and if there is, how high,’’ Julien said. “That’s what we had to figure out there.’’

But it wasn’t only Bergeron that the Bruins had to figure out.

They needed to determine whether Adam McQuaid could return, too, after the defenseman suffered a “minor, minor, minor setback’’ on Monday, according to Julien. As McQuaid said, “It was just something I had to get looked at. It was an unexpected thing. It wasn’t something I could foresee coming. But with me, that’s how things go sometimes.’’

He had been out of the lineup since Jan. 5, when he was hit against the boards by the Capitals’ Zach Sill, a hit that earned Sill a suspension. But the setback proved not to be enough to keep him out.

“I thought he was good there for his first game in five, six weeks there’’ Julien said. “Thought he handled himself well. Kept it simple. Couple of glitches here and there, like everybody else, but he actually surprised me how stable he was for his first game back.’’

McQuaid started the game skating with Dennis Seidenberg, but was quickly moved to play with Torey Krug.

“I love playing with him,’’ Krug said. “He knows what he’s doing out there. Never strays too far away from the net. He wins his battles. Thought he did a good job. He was moving the puck well. That’s all you can ask from him after being out for so long.’’

To make room for McQuaid coming off injured reserve, the Bruins assigned Colin Miller to Providence.

Ratings down

The Bruins ratings on NESN have plummeted 19 percent from last season, according to the Sports Business Journal. Only three other teams in the NHL have experienced bigger drops this year, the Coyotes (23 percent), the Islanders (24 percent), and the Blues (25 percent).

The plunge is somewhat of a surprise, considering the Bruins are still in the playoff hunt, and would qualify for the postseason if the season were to end today.

The good news for the Bruins is they are still fifth in the league with a 3.43 average rating this season (out of 21 teams because information on Carolina, Nashville and the seven Canadian teams was not available).

The Sabres had the biggest surge, up 55 percent to lead the league with a 6.81 average. The buzz surrounding Jack Eichel, the No. 2 overall pick in last year’s draft, appears to be the driving force. Eichel, who led Boston University to the national championship game last year, won the Hobey Baker Award last season, and brought some much-needed star power to Buffalo this year.

Unlucky 13

Marchand went scoreless, ending his streak of 13 goals in 13 games. But Loui Eriksson has picked up the reins. He now has goals in each of his last four games, all of them on the current road trip. He has five in his last six games . . . Max Talbot, Zac Rinaldo, and Joe Morrow were scratched against the Blue Jackets.

Andy Mahoney of the Globe staff contributed to this report. Amalie Benjamin can be reached at abenjamin@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @amaliebenjamin.