BOSTON — Don't count Zdeno Chara out just yet.
The Bruins captain was hospitalized for dehydration on Friday night, but it's likely he will still play in Game 2 of the club's opening-round playoff series against Montreal Saturday night at the Garden.
"He got treated for a little bit of dehydration, and that's basically all there is to that," Bruins coach Claude Julien said Saturday morning. "Until our medical staff tells me he can't go, he's in tonight."
Chara played a team-high 25:06 in Game 1 on Thursday, but that's actually less than the 25:26 he averaged in the regular season. Chara also practiced on Friday, but didn't feel well later in the afternoon and was eventually hospitalized.
Most of his teammates didn't learn of the situation until Saturday morning. They were concerned about their teammate, but also confident Chara would be ready to play Saturday night.
"I didn't know until last night, I actually don't know too much about it," forward Milan Lucic said. "I know him real well. He's a battler and I'm sure he'll do whatever he can to be able to get himself ready to play tonight.
"I've seen him play through a lot," Lucic added. "He's a battler. He's a warrior. That's why he's our captain. He's going to do whatever he can to get himself ready and hopefully [be] in the lineup today. I don't know much about what's going on with him physically, but I know mentally he's going to do everything he can to get himself ready and get himself out there with us because there's nothing more that he wants to do than get out there and get in the battle."
The Bruins know the absence of the Norris Trophy candidate would be a huge blow to a club already desperate to pull even in the series after losing 2-0 in Game 1.
"He's 6-foot-9, 260 pounds, he's a big presence for us," winger Shawn Thornton said. "I think he's been one of our best players in the four years I've been here, so he's huge."
Thornton also wouldn't rule out Chara playing though, and noted how much all players battle through to stay in the lineup come playoff time.
"It's that time year, you suck things up," Thornton said. "It's part of playoffs. You see guys battling through everything. It's what makes our sport great. Guys don't take nights off, they play through it."
Julien agreed, and noted that Chara is the kind of player to make the sacrifices necessary to stay in the lineup.
"I think at this stage of the season, players are definitely going to play through anything," Julien said. "During the regular season you'll always take the cautious route, but in the playoffs you do what you have to do. I think if it's up to him, he'll definitely play. The only people that will hold him back are our doctors. That's the type of players you want on your team and he's got that type of attitude."
That said, Julien was careful to note that the final decision won't be up to Chara or even Julien. The club's medical staff will make the call on whether Chara can play, and they aren't going to risk his long-term health, even for a crucial playoff game.
"Until somebody tells me he can't go tonight, he's playing," Julien said. "I'm certainly not going to be the guy making the final decision. Our medical people are, but they have yet to tell me that he can't go."
