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Out of action for the last six games, Boston Bruins captain Zdeno Chara was back in his normal spot on the Bruins’ top pairing opposite Brandon Carlo for Monday’s morning skate at Warrior Ice Arena. But the Black and Gold have seen this before. Lots of times, in fact. So is the 39-year-old ready to finally take that next step and play in tonight’s Atlantic Division matchup against the Florida Panthers?
“Probable,… B’s coach Claude Julien said of Chara’s status. “More than likely probable.…
In six games without Chara, the Bruins have posted three wins and seven points, and have limited their opponents to just over 28 shots against per night, while outscoring them 12-to-10.
The Bruins are 11-8-0 with No. 33 in their lineup this season.
In net, the Bruins will give this start to Tuukka Rask.
Rask made a season-high 35 stops in Saturday’s win over Buffalo, and comes into play with 13 wins and a .941 save percentage in 18 games this season. The 29-year-old brings excellent career figures against the Panthers into this one, too, with 16 wins and a .951 save percentage in 20 career head-to-heads, including a 33-of-34 performance in his only prior meeting against ‘em this season.
Florida is expected to counter with Roberto Luongo. The 37-year-old Luongo took a loss in his last outing (Dec. 3 against the Senators) behind a 19-of-21 performance, and enters play with just nine wins this season in 17 games this year in spite of a .929 save percentage.
Luongo has 15 wins (four shutouts) and a .926 save percentage in 37 career games against the B’s.
- Brad Marchand has 13 goals and 22 points in 25 career games against the Panthers.
- Kevan Miller has chipped in 18 hits and eight blocked shots in just six games this year.
- B’s forward Austin Czarnik has been held without a point in nine of his last 10 contests.
- Jaromir Jagr has three goals and six points in his last eight games.
- Boston native Keith Yandle has three assists in five career games at TD Garden.
Other news and notes
Absent from the on-ice portion of the morning skate, winger Matt Beleskey was undergoing a medical evaluation from the team doctors, and seems unlikely to play in tonight’s game. Beleskey was injured in a first period hit from the Sabres’ Taylor Fedun that seemed to bother the 28-year-old’s hip.
His spot on the B’s third line with Riley Nash and Austin Czarnik will be taken by Ryan Spooner.
Also missing from the morning skate? Defenseman Torey Krug (flu). But similar to Bergeron’s issue last Saturday, the Bruins expect Krug to play. Krug has seven assists in his last eight games played.
Noel Acciari (knee) joined the Bruins on the ice today, but has not yet been cleared to play.
Ty Anderson has been covering the National Hockey League for HockeyBuzz.com since 2010 and has been a member of the Pro Hockey Writers Association's Boston Chapter since 2013. Ty is also the Boston Bruins beat writer and columnist for WEEI.com, and can also be found in the New England Hockey Journal. Contact him on Twitter or send him an email at Ty.AndersonHB[at]gmail.com.