In Thursday night’s game against the New York Islanders, the Boston Bruins suffered a 3-2 loss. Despite the loss, the worst part wass that their captain, Zdeno Chara, left the game during the first period with rumors of an injury.
Chara left the ice after a collision with John Tavares that left the Islander on his back. Shortly after, Chara was seen leaving the ice and was said he would not return for the rest of the game. No one said what was wrong with the 6’9’’ defensive captain, leaving fans worried.
Worry increased once the second period kicked off and the Islanders made the Bruins look like they were skating through quicksand. This foreshadowed what the future games would look like without their captain.
When the game ended, head coach Claude Julien did not say what was wrong with the defensemen or how long he would be out. Once the report got out, the media learned Chara would be out four to six weeks with a tear in the posterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. He will hopefully avoid undergoing surgery.
Chara is not only the captain, but he matches up against top lines, kills four-minute power plays, acts as a human shield in front of the net, receives the most ice time, delivers huge hits, and shoots the puck up to 108.8 miles per hour. He is one of the players, along with goalie Tuukka Rask and center and assistant captain Patrice Bergeron, that is simply irreplaceable.
The Bruins have been having a tough time so far this season when it comes to getting the puck where it needs to be. However in the past few games, the Bruins have improved. They have been scoring the goals they needed in order to win games, which was seen on Tuesday night against the San Jose Sharks in a 5-3 win. They finally seemed like they were finding their rhythm.
But when a team loses their captain, it changes the dynamic of the team and the game. The players skate and shoot differently without the presence of a leader on the ice. Without Chara, the Bruins are facing what they think is their worst nightmare.
Not only will the veteran leadership lack on the ice for the four to six weeks that Chara is suspected to miss, but the Bruins are facing serious defensive issues now that Chara won’t be playing.
Who is going to be the one to step up and take charge of the hitting and playing time that Chara is used to? The Bruins already recalled defensemen Joe Morrow and Zack Trotman from Providence, but other options are limited since Kevin Miller was also recently sidelined due to a shoulder dislocation. But Dougie Hamilton, Chara’s defensive partner this season could be the player they need to take charge.
Dennis Seidenberg would be another good option, however Seidenberg has recently returned from an injury where he was out for most of the 2013-14 season and is still trying to work his way back to where he use to be.
The one person that the Bruins truly need in this moment is Johnny Boychuck who they traded to the Islanders a few weeks ago. This trade caused a lot of turmoil because of how strong a defensemen Boychuck is and what a great asset he had been to the Bruins. It left fans angry and in confusion as to why management would do this.
Making the decision to trade him, in my opinion, was not smart. And ironically, the return of Boychuck to Boston last night in light of the Chara injury showed the Bruins that maybe if they still had Boychuck, they would not be as worried going into the next 6 weeks without their captain.
The hockey gods don’t seem to be in favor of the Boston Bruins at the moment and every minute, point, and stride is truly precious. And as a fan it will be interesting to see how Chara’s time is replaced and who it’s replaced with.
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