It looks like it was merely a flesh wound for the Bruins captain in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final.
Zdeno Chara left the ice bloodied and bellowing in pain when he blocked a Vladimir Tarasenko shot in the closing minutes of the third period in Boston's 4-2 win over the St. Louis Blues at TD Garden. The Tarasenko screamer hit Chara on the left forearm and immediately ripped open the skin in the area surrounding impact, and he quickly left the ice for the Bruins dressing room to get immediate repairs.
The 42-year-old assured after the win, however, that he was okay and it was just a bump along the way in the two month playoff run.
"I'm fine I just got a cut," said Chara. "So, I just needed a couple of stitches."
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Indeed the Bruins captain seemed okay postgame and is going to do everything to stay in the lineup after missing Game 4 of the conference final with an undisclosed injury that healed up over the 10-day break between playoff games. On the ice, Chara had some okay moments, but also had some times of struggle when he was on the ice with a Bruins top line that wasn't playing some of their best hockey during Game 1.
The stitched-up Chara finished with an assist in 19:38 along with a shot on net, two hits, a takeaway and a couple of blocked shots, but was also badly beaten to a puck race in the first period that led to the first St. Louis goal of the game. The Bruins had previously lost a player to an upper body injury caused by a blocked shot when Chris Wagner went down in the middle of the conference final. Wagner isn't expected back at any point in this postseason.
Highlights from Bruins' 4-2 victory over the Blues>>>
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