Chara: Defenseman of mystery
Status for Game 5 unclear, but Bruins don’t seem worried
BOSTON — The Bruins are treating the Zdeno Chara injury as if it’s a mystery without any clues.
Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy didn’t speculate whether injured captain Zdeno Chara is out for Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final on Thursday.
“Facial injury — no update on him,” Cassidy said. “I will give you an update on him tomorrow.”
The only hint Cassidy offered was that Chara didn’t skate, “so that makes it a little bit more difficult for him.”
“I’ve always said the guys who are skating are a little closer,” Cassidy said.
Chara, 42, suffered what appeared to be a significant injury early in the second period of Game 4 when he was struck in the face by a shot by Blues forward Brayden Schenn. The shot, from close range, struck Chara’s stick and deflected upward.
Some media reports say Chara suffered a broken jaw, but all Cassidy confirmed after Game 4 was that Chara received stitches to close the cut and that he would need dental work.
On Wednesday, Cassidy was asked whether he had seen Chara? “No,” he said.
Has he talked to Chara? “No,” he said. “Text, does that count?”
What did Chara say in the text? “Not much,” Cassidy said. Patrice Bergeron, another Bruins leader, was asked about Chara’s condition, and he said: “We haven’t seen him.”
The Chara injury has the potential to have devastating consequences. He has averaged 21:56 of ice time. He’s the leading hitter among Bruins defensemen and second in blocked shots. More important, he has an aura about him. He’s 6-9, and he can disrupt a rush with his size and reach. Players still try to avoid him.
Chara’s particularly valuable against the Blues because they play a physical game.
“Against a heavier team is when you really miss what he brings to the table,” Cassidy said.
But the Bruins aren’t as alarmed as most teams would be in losing an important player. They’ve been down this road before.
“Our mentality will be fine in terms of being able to win without certain players,” Cassidy said. “It’s because we’ve done it, not in the Stanley Cup Final. [But] we did it without [Patrice Bergeron] this year. So I think guys will be good that way in knowing the team will pull together.”
It’s worth noting that the Bruins aren’t talking as if it’s a given that Chara is out.
“We don’t know right now,” Cassidy said. “There’s a little bit of that hope factor for us, as well.”
Said Bergeron: “He’s a warrior, and it’s pretty impressive the pain threshold that he has.”
Even if Chara’s jaw is broken, former NHL star Jeremy Roenick said it’s possible he could play, depending on the severity of the injury. He broke his jaw twice in his career — once in four places — and he played 14 days later. The other time it was shattered, broken in 23 places, and he was out eight weeks.
Roenick said he doesn’t know the extent of Chara’s injury, but he said today’s technology allows injuries to be stabilized better than in the past.
“The hardest thing is breathing,” Roenick said. “If he can breathe, he can play. I think he will play because he has a whole lifetime to heal his face.’’
A chance to win a Stanley Cup could be a big motivation for Chara, even though he has won it before.
Roenick paused: “I know I would break my face to win a Stanley Cup.”