Sep 30, 2014; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Bruins defenseman
Zdeno Chara(33) against the New York Islanders during the second period at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports
Last night Zdeno Chara was the recipient of a knee-on-knee collision with Islanders’ John Tavares. It was reported last night from TSN’s Aaron Ward, Chara has suffered ligament damage to his left knee and is expected to miss a minimum of four to six weeks. Today in a press conference GM Peter Chiarelli confirmed the report in stating Chara has a tear in the posterior ligament in his left knee. The injury to the B’s big blue liner is a game changer without a doubt, especially with the absence of Kevan Miller and having traded Johnny Boychuk to the Isles.
“It’s very tough,” defenseman Dennis Seidenberg said. “ our leader, and it’s always tough when a guy like that goes down. We have to embrace the opportunity and play better and make up for that if possible.”
At thirty-seven years old, Chara logs more minutes per game than any other defenseman on the ice. Last season, in the absence of Dennis Seidenberg, Johnny Boychuk stepped up and filled the position and added ice time. However, with Krug already filling in for a missing Miller and Bartkowski added to the roster, the Bruins had to make a call to the AHL affiliate, Providence Bruins.
Puck Prose
Zach Trotman is one of two defensemen the Bruins are looking at to place in the line up for Saturday’s game. While Trotman has been called up to Boston before, he has yet to suit up for his first career NHL game. He has appeared in five games for the Providence Bruins this season and posted one assist. The other defensemen the Bruins have called upon is Joe Morrow, acquired in the trade with Loui Eriksson and Reilly Smith. Morrow has also appeared in five games with the Providence Bruins this season and notched a goal and one assist.
Morrow possesses an aggressive style of play that the Bruins could find valuable in the absence of their heavy hitting captain. He’s a great two-way player with the ability to get plays started and moving up ice, something the Bruins have struggled with recently. Trotman on the other hand is more of a defensive-defenseman with speed and strength.
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While both players were called up on an emergency basis, it is likely that we will see at least one of them inserted in the defensive pairings. However, it’s going to take more than one of these call-ups to replace a player like Zdeno Chara. A player that has only missed 20 games in his 9-year tenure with the Bruins.
“He’s an irreplaceable player, so obviously him not being out there, everyone notices, us and them,” said Chris Kelly. “He plays every situation for us and he’s our leader. We’re going to need to fill that void collectively as a group. Not just one guy is going to be able to do that.”
“He’s an irreplaceable player, so obviously him not being out there, everyone notices, us and them,” said Chris Kelly. “He plays every situation for us and he’s our leader. We’re going to need to fill that void collectively as a group. Not just one guy is going to be able to do that.”
With Dennis Seidenberg already working his way back into shape after coming back from knee surgery and Matt Bartkowski, once again, struggling to find his game the Bruins are in a tougher spot than they already were. With a roster that’s already desperately searching to find consistency and some sort of chemistry offensively, being without Chara for a month or more is going to make it tough for the Bruins to do much of anything. They are going to have to find a player that can provide strong net-front presence, kill penalties and log a lot of minutes. While Providence call ups are a quick fix, they aren’t going to be a long-term solution. The Bruins are going to have to look elsewhere in order to find some sort of filler until the captain is ready to return, even if it means losing a couple of the draft picks they acquired for Boychuk.