Optional morning skates are generally fairly uninteresting affairs, but Thursday's gave Bruins fans plenty of reason to get excited.
Just three days after reportedly breaking his jaw in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final Monday night, Bruins captain Zdeno Chara was back on the ice hours before Thursday night's Game 5 at TD Garden. Check out the video at the top of this post.
Fellow defenseman Matt Grzelcyk was also on the ice for the second straight day after missing the last two games with a concussion. Chara and Grzelcyk were both wearing normal practice jerseys rather than red no-contact jerseys, though it's worth noting that there's rarely contact in optional morning skates anyway.
Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said after Thursday morning's skate that Chara and Grzelcyk are both game-time decisions and noted that both will need to be medically cleared first and foremost. He added that if Chara is medically cleared, it would then be up to him to decide if he feels good enough to play. Knowing Chara, it's hard to imagine he'd hold himself out.
Cassidy also said that dressing seven defensemen and sitting a forward is still on the table even if one or both of Chara or Grzelcyk return.
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