BEDFORD — The Bruins survived without Zdeno Chara early this season, as the team captain missed 18 games with a knee injury.
They also were able to close out the Eastern Conference finals against the Carolina Hurricanes without Chara in Game 4.
But the Bruins faltered after Chara exited Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final Monday night after taking a puck to the face early in the second period of a 4-2 loss to the St. Louis Blues.
Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy had no specifics on Chara’s injury Tuesday afternoon, but the Athletic reported that he had suffered a broken jaw.
Chara’s status has not been determined for Game 5 Thursday, but Cassidy believes the Bruins can draw on earlier experiences.
“He is going to see a doctor today here in Boston,” Cassidy said after arriving at Hanscom Field Tuesday afternoon. “If they have something for us, I’ll give it to you. Right now, I’ve got nothing.”
The Bruins are also missing defensemen Matt Grzelcyk (concussion) and Kevan Miller (knee).
Talking about lengthy early-season absences of Chara, Miller, and others, Cassidy said, “I think it does [help] for the mentality of our group. They know we can win.
“This isn’t a surprise, all of a sudden, Game 5, Stanley Cup Final, you get something thrown at you that you’re not used to. We did it a lot this year, different positions, D specifically, we went through it in November, December.
“We lost probably three-fourths of our [defensive] group or played without them for several games. And we were able to win some games in there — don’t know how many exactly, but it was certainly good enough to stay in the playoff hunt and move up in the standings.
“So, I believe our group knows they can win with whoever’s in the lineup back there. It’s down to we need two more wins, so do they. It’s not for an extended period of time, so I think that helps as well [with] your mental state.
“It’s like, hey, just suck it up and do what you’ve got to do, whatever it takes to help that group out. So, I’m actually OK with it. Hey, it’s losing good players — you’re taking good players out of the lineup, that’s what hurts most, if they can’t go. Our mentality will be a next-man-up type of thing.”
The Bruins had a five-game road winning streak covering three series snapped in Game 4.
“I don’t think our team’s down,” Cassidy said. “We’ve got good leadership. They’ve been through this, the ups and downs. We lost one game. We had the opportunity to win, we didn’t. They made the plays they had to. So, we’ll be OK there.”
Mental resolve
A team meeting reinforced defenseman Charlie McAvoy’s resolve.
“We already spoke as a group on where we are mentally,” he said. “Just really embracing this for what it is. It’s best-of-three for the Stanley Cup. What an opportunity. It’s unbelievable to be here, how we got here — I don’t think we need to focus on that, just where we are now. Just knowing Game 5 is the most important right now and we respond well.
“Tell me the beginning of the year I’d be in this position, I’d be elated. I am right now and we’ve got to make the most of it.”
The Bruins have lost consecutive games only in the Columbus series this postseason.
“It’s now a best-of-three for the Stanley Cup, that’s the mind-set we have,” McAvoy said. “We can be a lot better. I think we bounce back, we’re a resilient group. I think we show up those following games and we tend to play a lot better, and that’s promising for us.”
As for keys to success, the Bruins must prevent the Blues from dictating the tempo, McAvoy said.
“We need to play our game,” McAvoy said. “It’s noticeable that when they have success they’re imposing their game, which is forechecking and getting on the puck — they cycle, they go low to high, they get shots, they get opportunities.
“We play a little bit of that system, as well. We play a creative brand down low. Our forwards, especially, are able to show their skill. We can easily possess the puck a lot more in the offensive zone, and when we have had success against this team we’ve been able to do that. So, that’s something we need to get back to. We need to get out of the zone quickly to eliminate those 30-40-second shifts where they’re just forechecking and hanging on to it. So, our breakouts need to be smoother. We need to be crisp — just play hockey, have fun.”
Don’t be shy
David Pastrnak’s formula for success is simple — fire away.
“I don’t think we had enough shots,” Pastrnak said. “And get bodies in front of the goalie and get second opportunities. I think we [passed] up a lot of shots last game. That’s the biggest mind-set for us. Any time we do these things and get in front of the goalie we always score a bunch.”