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Kalman: Chara Injury A Concern, But So Is Play Of Bergeron's Line

BOSTON (CBS) - We don't know what happened to Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara that forced him to miss all the final 48 minutes of a 3-2 loss to the New York Islanders on Tuesday at TD Garden.

All we know is that he's injured and there will be an update in the next day or so.

The Bruins, who have lost plenty of defensemen to injury over the past several seasons, will have an uphill climb of epic proportions if they have to go without their captain for an extended period.

Although there's no way to replace Chara, the blow of his absence would be softened if the Bruins could figure what's wrong with their other foundation player: Patrice Bergeron.

The two-time Selke Trophy winner was on the ice for two even-strength goals against in the loss to New York. He was also on the ice for two even-strength goals against in the Bruins' 5-3 win against San Jose on Tuesday. The Sharks also scored a power-play goal with Bergeron among Boston's penalty killers.

You mix in the four-minute high sticking penalty the Bruins had to kill with Bergeron in the box late in the third period against San Jose, and you might start to get the feeling Bergeron isn't perfect after all.

"Yeah, it's definitely something I take a lot of pride in, something that can't happen. I'm here to on the both sides of the ice, I'm there to help the team," Bergeron said after the loss to the Islanders. "You can't be on the ice for that many goals."

Bergeron's too much of a loyal person to throw his linemates and some defenseman under the bus. But clearly he hasn't been the only one to blame for the Bruins' breakdowns that have led to opposition goals.

It's not a coincidence that defenseman Matt Bartkowski was on the ice with Bergeron for two of Islanders' goals. And the defense pair of Dougie Hamilton and Chara had a rough night against the Sharks and were on for one of the even-strength scores against.

Bergeron, obviously, also has linemates that haven't gotten the job done in either end. Marchand scored a power-play goal against San Jose, but he didn't register a shot on net against New York. Reilly Smith, who has looked like a lost soul in both the offensive and defensive zone, has one shot on net and no points in his past four games.

When asked about the play of Bergeron's line, coach Claude Julien shined the spotlight on Smith. "Right now I think there's a guy, Smitty, that still is behind. You know he missed the start of camp and he's still trying to find his stride," Julien said. "I thought Brad played much better last game. So things are coming around with his personally. So you need three guys for a line to work well."

Just when the line of Milan Lucic, David Krejci and Seth Griffith is starting to click, the Bruins' allegedly most reliable line goes in the tank. If Bergeron, Marchand and Smith weren't scoring, it would be an excusable slump. But Smith's jumping up in the play when he should be backing off as the third man high, and Marchand and Bergeron aren't managing the puck well to help the beleaguered defense get the puck out when under pressure.

Bergeron got defensive when he was asked if he's feeling himself these days. "It's one of those things that the bounces are just not going your way," Bergeron said. "Like we've just talked about, the puck's got to get out and we've got to figure it out from there. That's it. Tonight we had our chances to put the puck in the back of the net and we've got to do the job as well."

The defense is going to come under fire if it has to live a post-Chara existence. It'll help if the best two-way player in the NHL and his linemates can get out of their funk and chip in at both ends.

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