Causeway Crowd
Fansided

Boston Bruins: Zdeno Chara possibly playing Game 5 with a broken jaw

By Luke Ryan

BOSTON - JUNE 6: Boston Bruins captain and defenseman Zdeno Chara takes part in a morning skate at TD Garden in Boston ahead of Game 5 of the 2019 Stanley Cup Finals against the St. Louis Blues on June 6, 2019. If cleared by doctors, Chara could return without missing a game after taking a deflected shot by the Blues Brayden Schenn off his jaw in Game 4 at St. Louis Monday. He sat for nearly 37 minutes of the 4-2 loss, joining his teammates on the bench for the entire third period without taking a shift. (Photo by David L. Ryan/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
BOSTON - JUNE 6: Boston Bruins captain and defenseman Zdeno Chara takes part in a morning skate at TD Garden in Boston ahead of Game 5 of the 2019 Stanley Cup Finals against the St. Louis Blues on June 6, 2019. If cleared by doctors, Chara could return without missing a game after taking a deflected shot by the Blues Brayden Schenn off his jaw in Game 4 at St. Louis Monday. He sat for nearly 37 minutes of the 4-2 loss, joining his teammates on the bench for the entire third period without taking a shift. (Photo by David L. Ryan/The Boston Globe via Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

Somehow, Boston Bruins captain Zdeno Chara is a game-time decision for Game 5, despite having fractured his jaw in St. Louis a couple of days ago.

Now, frankly I don’t think most Boston Bruins fans are surprised that Zdeno Chara is willing to skate with a broken jaw, especially given this is the Stanley Cup Final we’re talking about, but you’ve got to see him as somewhat crazy regardless.

This man is risking his own well-being for the benefit of his team. If his Boston Bruins teammates can’t rally around that, then we really don’t deserve to win the Stanley Cup.

Somehow, Zdeno Chara took to the ice for practice despite having minimal movement of his jaw and even managed to respond to questions from the media, albeit in written form.

More from Bruins News

The decision by him to skate and to possibly actually be out on the ice come game-time is one that poses inherent risks to both himself and the Boston Bruins team.

Firstly, you have to imagine, as silly as you might have to be to challenge or try to intimidate Zdeno Chara, that the St. Louis Blues will be trying to target the big man. Skating with an injury is like skating with a target on you. Only advantage that Zdeno Chara has is that the target is elevated above everyone on the ice, with his extraordinary height.

More concerning will be the effect such an injury has on his conditioning. It’s not going to be easy for a player with restricted movement of his mouth and jaw to catch his breath or even to have fuelled his body beforehand. This could be of major concern, especially if we end up in over-time or he finds himself stuck out on the ice for a lengthy shift.

Even communicating with his teammates is going to be a challenge, if the Boston Bruins do allow Zdeno Chara to put himself on the ice. In the press conference, he needed paper and pen to give interview responses; that doesn’t bode well out on the ice when you do need to communicate your position verbally. He can’t hardly walk around with a marker pen on the ice!

However, even when you weigh up these inherent challenges and risks that come with suiting up a guy with a broken jaw, the pro of having your captain and leader out there with you, regardless of his own personal pain, should far outweigh the cons.

It might be wise for the Boston Bruins to extend their bench, defensemen-wise and suit up a seventh man in Steven Kampfer. Of course, that means double-shifting a forward but given the form of the third line and lack of form on the second, you could probably spur some life from both.

dark. Next. The 'Perfection Line' needs to be perfect

Right now, it’s still a game-time decision, but Zdeno Chara is proving once more why he will one day have his Boston Bruins number hanging from the rafters at TD Garden.

Home/Bruins News