The Boston Bruins’ David Krejci and Zdeno Chara are set to return to practice early next week following their participation in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, assistant coach Geoff Ward said Thursday.
“We’ll probably give them off until Sunday or Monday, give them a couple of days to recoup,” Ward said, via ESPN.com. “They’ve been playing an awful lot of hockey, and we want to make sure they’re well-rested for the game in Buffalo.”
With five players and head coach Claude Julien all taking part in the Winter Games, Ward has been forced to reorganize the Bruins’ practice lineup. Thursday morning’s practice at Ristuccia Arena in Wilmington, Mass., featured the recall of forwards Alexander Khokhlachev and Craig Cunningham from Providence. Khokhlachev played first-line center alongside Milan Lucic and Jarome Iginla, while Cunningham acted as right winger on the third line with Daniel Paille and Chris Kelly.
“As we go on in the week, you’ll see a lot more battling, a lot more competition type of things as we move towards the game in Buffalo,” Ward said. “But today was all about getting the hands and feet going, feeling the puck again, and reviewing a little bit of our structure.”
The Bruins will play their first game since the Olympic break against the Buffalo Sabres on Feb. 26.
Photo via Twitter/@Bruins_Brasil
