Boston Bruins captain and No. 1 defenseman Zdeno Chara reportedly suffered a knee injury in Thursday night’s 3-2 loss to the New York Islanders.
TSN’s Aaron Ward first reported that Chara could miss four to six weeks with the injury. ESPN Boston’s Joe McDonald confirmed the report.
[tweet https://twitter.com/TSNAaronWard/status/525488457523920896 align=”center”]
The team has not made an official announcement on Chara’s status, and Bruins head coach Claude Julien didn’t reveal any details in his postgame press conference.
Chara left the game with just over eight minutes remaining in the first period. It’s possible that the injury occurred when he delivered a heavy hit on Islanders captain John Tavares. It appears that the two players collided knees on the play.
If Chara does miss an extended period of time because of an injury, the Bruins will need to make some sort of move to add a sixth defenseman to the NHL roster. Kevan Miller already is out indefinitely with an upper body injury.
The most likely move in the short term would be to call up a D-man from the AHL’s Providence Bruins. Zach Trotman, Chris Breen and David Warsofsky are the best options.
Thumbnail photo via Winslow Townson/USA TODAY Sports Images
