Zdeno Chara Injury: Updates on Bruins Star's Knee and Return

Updates from Friday, Oct. 24

The Bruins' official Twitter feed reported an update on Chara's status:

General manager Peter Chiarelli talked about the injury, according to ESPNBoston.com's Joe McDonald and the Bruins' official Twitter feed:

Original Text

Zdeno Chara exited Thursday night's game in the first period against the New York Islanders with an apparent knee injury.

The Boston Bruins announced shortly thereafter that the 37-year-old defenseman was out for the rest of the night:

TSN's Aaron Ward provided details on Chara's injury:

ESPNBoston.com's Joe McDonald confirmed the timetable: 

Little is known at the moment regarding Chara's injury. According to McDonald, he failed to appear during the final eight minutes of the opening period:

Amalie Benjamin of The Boston Globe speculated that Chara may have been hurt during a big hit on Islanders center John Tavares:

Heading into Thursday, Chara had two goals and an assist in eight games. He had been one of the team's most important players, averaging a little less than 24 minutes per night on the ice.

Even into his late 30s, the Slovak star remains one of the premier defensemen in the league. He ranked third at the position on NHL.com, and Bleacher Report's Dave Lozo listed him as the NHL's fourth-best defenseman.

There's little doubt about Chara's value for the Bruins, so they'll hope that his injury is minor and that he'll return to the ice as quickly as possible.