Bruins captain Zdeno Chara?s mystery injury will sideline him for tonight?s road game against the Ottawa Senators, and possibly the next game.
?It?s getting better and better,? Chara told reporters yesterday, although none of them knows exactly what ?it? is - pursuant to the Bruins? new policy of identifying injuries only as, ?upper body? or ?lower body.?
In the case of Chara, it?s actually a ?middle body? ailment, according to GM Peter Chiarelli. It sounds like some sort of strain or tear deep in the hip or pelvic region. Chara said he doesn?t know for sure when he?ll be able to play but expressed hope it would be by the end of the week.
?But you never know,? he said. ?One day at a time.?
Chara apparently was injured during Thursday?s loss to Toronto.
?Basically, after a little collision with an opposition player,? he said. ?Kind of a collision, and I felt something was wrong.?
Ducking questions right and left, Bruins coach Dave Lewis also did his best to hide the nature of Chara?s problem, beyond saying, ?It?s treatable, it?s being aggressively treated, double treatments (daily) to get him ready.?
But Lewis said there?s a chance Chara might miss the next two games.
?He?s not coming on the trip,? said Lewis, whose club flew to Ottawa yesterday afternoon. ?I don?t know if he?ll be available for the next game. We hope he will be. If not, Saturday. That?s the time frame. He?s a guy who wants to get into the lineup.?
Compounding the challenge for the Bruins tonight is the possible absence of defenseman Brad Stuart, who was home in California yesterday as his wife, Melissa, awaited the arrival of a baby. The B?s hope Stuart can make it to Ottawa in time for the game, but it?s no sure thing.
?If everything goes well - right now, that?s a big question,? Lewis said. ?Right now, I can?t tell you for sure he?s going to be there (tonight). It has to do with the baby.?
Because the club can?t be sure Stuart will make it, rookie defenseman Jonathan Sigalet was recalled from Providence and would make his NHL debut if needed. In 35 games for the AHL Bruins, the 20-year-old Sigalet has 8-8-16 totals.
Minus Chara and maybe Stuart, the B?s remaining defensemen will face a lot more pressure tonight.
?It puts a different responsibility on other guys,? Lewis said. ?You hope they can handle the responsibility in a positive way. Most guys want more. This is an opportunity for them to step up and assume that extra ice time, because we?re going to have to divvy up a lot of minutes that ?Z? would gobble up.
?We just have to have everyone assume that added responsibility, and be aware of who they?re playing against. Whether it?s a young guy like (Matt Lashoff) or (Andrew Alberts) or anybody, they?re going to have to play big.?
Rookie winger Phil Kessel didn?t have a whole lot to say about his two-game stint with Providence last weekend, or about his return to NHL action tonight.
?Being down there, you realize how much you missed the game,? said Kessel, who made a remarkable return from Dec. 11 cancer surgery.
Did he consider his AHL time beneficial?
?I don?t know,? he said. ?I enjoyed playing. It went all right.?
His conditioning?
?It?s been fine,? he said. ?It?s always been fine.?
His thoughts about his NHL return tonight?
?I?m excited,? he said. ?It should be good. I want to come back and be better than I was before.?
Kessel will play tonight as the fourth-line center between Petr Tenkrat and Stanislav Chistov. . . .
Goalie Tim Thomas will face the Senators tonight. Hannu Toivonen was recalled from Providence and will be the backup.
?It?s getting better and better,? Chara told reporters yesterday, although none of them knows exactly what ?it? is - pursuant to the Bruins? new policy of identifying injuries only as, ?upper body? or ?lower body.?
In the case of Chara, it?s actually a ?middle body? ailment, according to GM Peter Chiarelli. It sounds like some sort of strain or tear deep in the hip or pelvic region. Chara said he doesn?t know for sure when he?ll be able to play but expressed hope it would be by the end of the week.
?But you never know,? he said. ?One day at a time.?
Chara apparently was injured during Thursday?s loss to Toronto.
?Basically, after a little collision with an opposition player,? he said. ?Kind of a collision, and I felt something was wrong.?
Ducking questions right and left, Bruins coach Dave Lewis also did his best to hide the nature of Chara?s problem, beyond saying, ?It?s treatable, it?s being aggressively treated, double treatments (daily) to get him ready.?
But Lewis said there?s a chance Chara might miss the next two games.
?He?s not coming on the trip,? said Lewis, whose club flew to Ottawa yesterday afternoon. ?I don?t know if he?ll be available for the next game. We hope he will be. If not, Saturday. That?s the time frame. He?s a guy who wants to get into the lineup.?
Compounding the challenge for the Bruins tonight is the possible absence of defenseman Brad Stuart, who was home in California yesterday as his wife, Melissa, awaited the arrival of a baby. The B?s hope Stuart can make it to Ottawa in time for the game, but it?s no sure thing.
?If everything goes well - right now, that?s a big question,? Lewis said. ?Right now, I can?t tell you for sure he?s going to be there (tonight). It has to do with the baby.?
Because the club can?t be sure Stuart will make it, rookie defenseman Jonathan Sigalet was recalled from Providence and would make his NHL debut if needed. In 35 games for the AHL Bruins, the 20-year-old Sigalet has 8-8-16 totals.
Minus Chara and maybe Stuart, the B?s remaining defensemen will face a lot more pressure tonight.
?It puts a different responsibility on other guys,? Lewis said. ?You hope they can handle the responsibility in a positive way. Most guys want more. This is an opportunity for them to step up and assume that extra ice time, because we?re going to have to divvy up a lot of minutes that ?Z? would gobble up.
?We just have to have everyone assume that added responsibility, and be aware of who they?re playing against. Whether it?s a young guy like (Matt Lashoff) or (Andrew Alberts) or anybody, they?re going to have to play big.?
Rookie winger Phil Kessel didn?t have a whole lot to say about his two-game stint with Providence last weekend, or about his return to NHL action tonight.
?Being down there, you realize how much you missed the game,? said Kessel, who made a remarkable return from Dec. 11 cancer surgery.
Did he consider his AHL time beneficial?
?I don?t know,? he said. ?I enjoyed playing. It went all right.?
His conditioning?
?It?s been fine,? he said. ?It?s always been fine.?
His thoughts about his NHL return tonight?
?I?m excited,? he said. ?It should be good. I want to come back and be better than I was before.?
Kessel will play tonight as the fourth-line center between Petr Tenkrat and Stanislav Chistov. . . .
Goalie Tim Thomas will face the Senators tonight. Hannu Toivonen was recalled from Providence and will be the backup.
