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Bruins Captain Chara Won’t Play Against Caps

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Fresh off another overtime loss, 4-3 to the Nashville Predators at TD Garden Saturday night, and mired in a slump, the Boston Bruins will be without captain Zdeno Chara Monday night when they host the Washington Capitals in their final game before the holiday break. Chara is having a previously scheduled procedure done on his surgically repaired jaw because of an infection.

“The area where the surgery was done got infected, which is kind of rare, but it does happen,” Chara explained to the media following practice that he participated in. “The decision was made to avoid maybe further troubleshooting with that area, basically to remove all the plates and screws and clean it up. Instead of putting the plates in, they’re going to be taking the plates out.”

Chara’s jaw was repaired in offseason surgery after he broke it during Game 4 of the 2019 Stanley Cup Final against the St. Louis Blues last June. The Bruins captain played through the injury and finished the seven-game series that the Bruins lost. The jaw recently became infected thanks to bacteria buildup around the plates and screws that kept his jaw together during the Final and weeks after that.

Chara and the team decided to use this upcoming holiday break so he would miss the least games possible. They’re confident he can return to action Friday at Buffalo against the Sabres. The 6’9, 250-pound rearguard has five goals and eight assists in 37 games this season. 

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