For as shocked as the collective masses were when Zdeno Chara — donning a full face shield to protect his battered face/jaw — skated out on the TD Garden ice Thursday morning, the same couldn’t be said for those within the Bruins’ locker room.
“That’s just Zee. … It doesn’t surprise me at all,” Jake DeBrusk said.
Less than 72 hours after taking a puck to the mouth and exiting Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final with a reported broken jaw, Chara has somehow managed to put himself back into the conversation for playing in what will be a pivotal Game 5 against the Blues Thursday night, with his participation in the team’s optional skate standing as the first step for the 42-year-old captain.
While NHL PR noted that Chara cannot talk or open his mouth, he was able to provide a few written responses to the press corps Thursday morning. To the surprise of few, sitting out was not going to be an option for the defenseman if he gets the green light from the medical staff.
“At this time of the playoffs, everyone has injuries and there are challenges that you have to overcome to play,” Chara said. “I’m no different than any player on either team.”
Matt Grzelcyk
Oskar Sundqvist
“They’ll be game-time decisions,”
Bruce Cassidy
said of Chara and Grzelcyk. "They’re on the ice now, that’s a good sign. We’ve always said, once they get out there, they’re that much closer. … See how they feel at 7 or so tonight.”
There’s a heavy amount of risk involved if Chara is indeed playing with a fracture in his jaw. When
Torey Krug
suffered a similar injury during a preseason tuneup in September 2017, he was sidelined for a month — and had to wear a full shield in the weeks following his return to game action.
Noel Acciari
faced a similar recovery timetable when he broke his jaw after taking a puck to the face while with the Providence Bruins in December 2015.
A little under three days is … well, absurd. But Chara isn’t dwelling on the risks that another elbow or check could bring during an in-game situation.
“You don’t think about that,” Chara said “You think about playing. You don’t go into a game thinking you might get hurt.”
Given the potential dangers that come if both Chara and Grzelcyk are sent back out into the meat grinder that is a heavy Blues forecheck, Cassidy did note that rolling out seven defensemen remains on the table for Boston going into Game 5.
With one risky hit potentially saddling the Bruins with a shortage of D-men for the third time this series,
John Moore
could likely get the nod as the extra blueliner, allowing Cassidy to shorten workloads and give his club some added insurance.
A forward would need to get the hook in order to boost Boston’s blue line, with
David Backes
standing as the expected candidate. If that is the case,
David Pastrnak, Charlie Coyle
and
Marcus Johansson
would all likely get double-shifted on a slumping second line featuring
David Krejci
and
Jake DeBrusk.
“It won’t be Pasta,” Cassidy said with a smirk as to who would be scratched from the lineup. “He’s moved around a lot. He doesn't kill penalties, so you don’t spend a lot of energy there. There’s opportunity there to move him around, coming out of penalty kills. Marchy does kill, so it’s a little tougher to get those double shifts. Jojo doesn’t kill, so we can move a right winger around, move a left wing around. (
Danton) Heinen
has played both sides, so we’re comfortable with a guy getting a few extra minutes. It gets taxing obviously if you get into extended time. We can’t worry about overtime.”
Regardless of how much Cassidy shuffles around his lineup, there’s no doubting that Thursday’s scenario offers a much brighter picture than what was expected to transpire — with
Steven Kampfer
and
Urho Vaakanainen
expected to be thrown into the fire with both Grzelcyk and Chara out of commission.
Even if Chara is limited out on the ice,
Brad Marchand
noted that his presence alone will provide a huge lift going into a pivotal bout at TD Garden.
“It’s just ingrained in him,” Marchand said of Chara’s willingness to play through pain. “When you hear the stories of how he was brought up, he was brought up as a tough, hard-working person. Very respectful. So it doesn’t surprise me at all to see him — I don’t think it surprised anyone to see him out there. He wants to win more than anything and he shows that every single night. You never know what he’s playing through — he keeps everything quiet and to him and he’s not worried about complaining about injuries or anything like that.
“He’s willing to play with one leg, one arm. It doesn’t matter. He’s out there working as hard as he can and sacrificing his body because he knows, at the end of the day, you win — it’s worth everything you go through. Not everyone has that. You can’t teach that, you can’t push that on people. It’s either in you or it’s not. He’s able to play through pain — a lot more pain than most people. Probably anyone in this league. It’s incredible to see. I know I couldn't do what he does. So you have a lot of respect for him, watching what he puts himself through and how he just goes about his business.”
