WILMINGTON, Mass. — The Boston Bruins were without Zdeno Chara at Monday’s practice, but coach Claude Julien said it was just a maintenance day for the team captain and top-pairing defenseman.
Chara blocked a shot with his lower left leg during the third period of Saturday’s 2-1 shootout win over the Toronto Maple Leafs. He appeared to be in a ton of pain on the ice and on the bench immediately after contact, but he remained in the game.
Joe Morrow, who was recalled from the AHL’s Providence Bruins on an emergency basis Monday morning, took Chara’s spot on the blue line at practice and skated with Zach Trotman at Ristuccia Arena.
Julien also mixed up his lines quite a bit. We shouldn’t read too much into this, though, because this is the time of the season when coaches don’t want to show their real lineup to opponents. For example, Gregory Campbell appeared to be in the lineup during Saturday’s morning skate, but he didn’t take the warmup and was a healthy scratch versus the Leafs.
With a full, healthy group of forwards, there will be some healthy competition for some of the bottom-six spots. Daniel Paille and Campbell were the healthy scratches Saturday, and Max Talbot entered the lineup.
Julien also noted that defenseman Dougie Hamilton skated on his own Monday morning for the first time since suffering an undisclosed injury March 21. Julien wouldn’t confirm if Hamilton will accompany the team on its upcoming three-game road trip.
Here are the lines and pairings from Monday’s practice:
Brad Marchand-Patrice Bergeron-Loui Eriksson
Milan Lucic-David Krejci-David Pastrnak
Chris Kelly-Ryan Spooner-Brett Connolly (Dan Paille rotating)
Gregory Campbell-Carl Soderberg-Reilly Smith (Max Talbot rotating)
Torey Krug-Dennis Seidenberg
Joe Morrow-Zach Trotman
Matt Bartkowski-Adam McQuaid
Tuukka Rask, Niklas Svedberg
Thumbnail photo via Winslow Townson/USA TODAY Sports Images
