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Zdeno Chara

Zdeno Chara's loss is a big blow to already-strained Bruins defense

Kevin Allen
USA TODAY Sports

Defenseman Zdeno Chara's knee injury is another reminder of how much the Boston Bruins miss Johnny Boychuk.

Boston Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara will miss the next four to six weeks.

With Chara expected to be gone 4-6 weeks with a torn posterior cruciate ligament in his left knee, the Bruins will face more strain on a defensive unit that hasn't been quite right since Boychuk was dealt to the New York Islanders before the season.

Last season, the Bruins had the NHL's second lowest goals-against average. After nine games this season, the Bruins are in the middle of the pack, giving up about one-half a goal per game more than they did last season.

Chara will be gone at least until Nov. 20, and maybe until the first week in December. He will miss a minimum of 11 games.

It was ironic that Chara was hurt against the Islanders, a team that has been aided considerably by Boychuk's rugged playing style and presence.

Everyone understands why the Bruins traded Boychuk: they were being pushed beyond the edge of the salary cap ceiling. Plus, Boychuk will be an unrestricted free agent at season's end, and there was doubt about whether the Bruins could find the cap space to keep him. He will be at least a $5 million defenseman on the open market.

The Bruins also received a strong return (two second round draft picks and a conditional third) from the Islanders in exchange for Boychuk.

But it's fair to wonder whether Boychuk's value was underestimated, not only to the contending Bruins but to Chara, who will be 38 by season's end.

Boychuk helped Chara do some of the heavy lifting on defense. Boychuk has the ability to compete against the heavier forwards.

Chara's loss is complicated by the fact that Dennis Seidenberg, coming back from last season's injury, hasn't fully shaken off the rust on his game. It also doesn't help that defenseman Kevan Miller, who was supposed to take some of Boychuk's minutes, is injured.

No time is a good time for an injury. But this seems like a particularly bad time for Chara to go down. This would be like Anaheim losing Ryan Getzlaf or Pittsburgh losing Sidney Crosby. According to NHL.com, the Bruins have only played 20 games without Chara in his time in Boston, and they are 8-7-5 in those games.

It's not as if Boston has been humming along and simply needs to hunker down and tread water until Chara returns. The Bruins are trying to figure out who they are after going through offseason changes, including losing leading scorer Jarome Iginla and trading Boychuk.

When you are struggling to score goals, you certainly can't afford to lose your Norris Trophy-caliber defenseman.

Fans will be hoping for a trade, but in-season trades, because of salary cap, are not easily accomplished.

All the Bruins will likely be able to do is to hope a player like Dougie Hamilton can raise his game another level. The Bruins simply have to hope they can merely stay in the playoff picture until Chara is back.

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