Updated:
Special teams are killing the Sabres.
They are 0-25 on the power play this season.
Their penalty kill is average, at best.
Tyler Myers took a dumb penalty just 30 seconds into the game. Jeff Carter made the Sabres pay with the PPG.
Then, Kopitar's PPG gave the the Kings the two goal lead.
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In case you missed it...
Midway through the second period in LA, Tyler Myers welcomed rookie Andy Andreoff to the NHL.
Thanks, Kings .com
I love the bite in Tyler's game this season. He's punching guys in the face, chirping others, and spearing others.
Its good to see Myers get pissed off and take out his aggression on enemies.
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The Bruins will have to learn how to win without their captain in the lineup.
Bruins Zdeno Chara suspected left knee ligament injury.Expected out 4-6 weeks at which time they'll evaluate need for surgery or not. #TSN
— Aaron Ward (@TSNAaronWard) October 24, 2014
There's no silver lining in this black cloud.
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Chara hit Tavares, Chara suffered injury. If he's out long term, Bs will need D help pic.twitter.com/VUhzkhdKs3
— SabresBuzz (@SabresBuzz) October 24, 2014The Boston Bruins are holding their collective breath right now.
The captain Zdeno Chara suffered a lower body injury in the first period of their game against the NY Islanders on Thursday night. It appeared as though Chara went knee-on-knee with Isles captain John Tavares (see above picture).
Former Bruins D turned TSN analyst Aaron Ward tweeted that Chara will be looked at at hospital.
Boston Bruins Zdeno Chara has suspected left knee injury. Expected to undergo further tests/evaluation at hospital. #TSN
— Aaron Ward (@TSNAaronWard) October 24, 2014
Chara finished the game with 4:13 of ice time. Claude Julien rolled five D for the final 55 minutes of the 3-2 loss to the Islanders.
Julien told CSN Boston:
"We won't know anything until he sees the proper people in the medical staff. So nothing right now,… said Julien, when asked for an update on Chara. “When you lose your captain and your best defenseman, there’s no doubt it’s going to have an effect on your team. You’re going to lose guys during the season. It’s going to happen. How you react to it and how you respond to it is what’s important"
If the 37 year old Chara is lost long term to this injury, its likely that the Bruins will have to go outside their family to find a replacement for Chara.
The Bruins have a depleted D corps having traded one of their horses Johnny Boychuk to the Islanders earlier this month. The Bruins lost D Kevan Miller last Saturday night in Buffalo when he dislocated his shoulder in a fight with Nic Deslauriers.
That's leaves the oft injured Dennis Seidenberg, Dougie Hamilton, Torey Krug, Matt Bartkowski, Adam McQuaid as their healthy D.
If Chara's lost long term, might Bruins GM Pete Chiarelli phone Tim Murray to inquire about Tyler Myers ($5.5M AAV). Myers can play 24-28 minutes per night, can kill penalties and man a PP point. Myers is a right handed shot while Chara is a leftie.
Chara's cap hit for this season is $6,916,667.
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