Chara and Krejci Rejoin Team; Paille, Gagne and Soderberg Missing
Oct 21, 2014; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Bruins defenseman
Zdeno Chara(33) during their game against the San Jose Sharks at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports
“I don’t think you understand how big a part of the team he is until he’s out. The presence he has in the room is huge”-Brad Marchand on Chara’s return
After finishing off a Western road trip with a confident 5-2 victory over the Arizona Coyotes, the Bruins returned to practice today after having a couple of days off. Among the usual crew, familiar faces Zdeno Chara, David Krejci and David Warsofsky joined in on the action. Missing from practice were Daniel Paille, Carl Soderberg and Simon Gagne. Soderberg and Paille were absent due to a virus, but have no fear, it is NOT the mumps! After a breakout of the mumps throughout the West Coast teams a little while back, the Bruins squad was tested and vaccinated prior to the trip, assuring they wouldn’t catch it. Simon Gagne on the other hand, will be missing for an unknown amount of time for a ‘personal leave of absence.’ While there are no details being givne, we hope that everything is okay for him and his family.
David Krejci rejoined the team once again, taking part in the full practice, his first since November 20. Despite skating the entire time the team was on the West Coast, he has not been cleared for action yet, but the Bruins are hopeful it will be soon.
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Eyes On Isles
On the plus side, Zdeno Chara has missed 19 games this season after a torn PCL injury sustained at the end of October. As of 2:00PM, he has been cleared for game action and is expected to be re-inserted into the Bruins lineup for Thursday night’s game against the Chicago Blackhawks.
“That’s our captain we’re talking about here,” said Julien. “When you see him getting excited about playing Thursday, you know he’s feeling pretty good. He’s a guy that hates to sit up there and watch games.”
There is no question that the Bruins will get a boost from the addition of Chara and Krejci on and off the ice. Without Chara and Krejci, Dennis Seidenberg and Milan Lucic have been wearing the ‘A’ along with Bergeron and Kelly, with a couple of other teammates stepping up as well. With the return of Chara and Krejci, the guys who have been stepping up game in and game out can relax a little and focus on what they need to do personally instead of being in three places at once.
“We want to bring that energy back and find a way to get that, and it just makes other guys talk more, and it’s interesting to see who steps up every day and tried to fill that void,” Brad Marchand said in early November. “But I think we’re all coming together and building relationships, and that’s what we need to do.”