BOSTON — Bruins captain Zdeno Chara, who has what has been reported as a broken jaw stemming from the wrist shot he took from Brayden Schenn early in the second period of the Blues' 4-2 win in Game 4.
Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy wouldn't confirm any reports, only saying Chara has a "facial injury" and that his loss would be a blow but one Boston would have to overcome.
"Our mentality will be fine in terms of being able to win without certain players now if we're talking about 'Zee' because we've done it," Cassidy said. "We've been there, we've done it; not in the finals of the Stanley Cup but we did it against Carolina in the clinching game. Now, we were up 3-0 so maybe there's a little more going on there. We did it without [Charlie] McAvoy Game 1 against Carolina. We've done it without 'Bergy' [Patrice Bergeron] this year, different guys. So I think our guys are good that way knowing that the team will pull together. It's just tough when you lose [Chara]. He is your captain and he plays some valuable minutes in this particular series. Against a heavier team, that's where you miss the actual what he brings to the table. But in terms of the mentality, I think this team will be OK. And we don't know 'Zee' if he misses one game, if he wouldn't be available for the next one if that's the case, either. We don't really know right now. There's a little bit of that hope factor for us as well."
What's good about the Blues is they don't care or worry about who's in or who's out on the other side. They've maintained sole focus on their own locker room and will keep it that way.
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"It doesn't switch our game plan much," Schwartz said. "We've got to focus on us and worry about executing our game plan and getting to our game as quick as we can. We can't really worry too much about who's in for them and who's not."
Forward Pat Maroon said Berube gives the team reminders of what to worry/not worry about.
"We just focus on what we need to do," Maroon said. "I think Chief does a good job reminding us that it’s not them, it’s about us. We can’t focus on who’s in or who’s out of their lineup. We don’t even look at the lineup sheets. We just go in and play."
The Bruins could get a boost from the return of defenseman Matt Grzelcyk, who has missed the past three games from concussion protocol stemming from a check from Oskar Sundqvist, who was suspended for Game 3.
