from Matt Porter of the Boston Globe,

No Zdeno Chara.

And no points.

That’s how the Bruins left here. After losing their captain for the final two periods on Wednesday, they squandered a two-goal lead and opened their four-game, nine-day road swing with a 6-3 defeat to the Avalanche....

But Chara, key to Boston’s strategy of of defending the opposing No. 1 line of Gabriel Landeskog, Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen, departed after nine shifts and 5:24 with an apparent left knee issue. The defenseman’s leg buckled as he hit former teammate Carl Soderberg with 1:07 left in the first period. He finished his shift, appearing to favor his leg for 27 seconds until DeBrusk took a Colorado turnover in for a goal that made it 2-1.

The Bruins called it a lower-body injury. A team spokesman said they would issue an update Thursday on Chara if appropriate. A scheduled practice and media availability in Dallas was canceled.

Coach Bruce Cassidy was unsure whether Chara. who walked out of the Pepsi Center with a slight limp, would be assessed before the Bruins’ date with the Stars on Friday, or be sent back home to Boston.

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