Weekend return for Chara termed 'slim'

WILMINGTON - Yesterday morning, when Zdeno Chara was going through a solo on-ice session at Ristuccia Arena, general manager Peter Chiarelli watched his captain and shook his head.

"It's frustrating to not have him," said Chiarelli, who considers Chara the league's best defenseman.

Chara, who has missed the last three games because of an upper-body injury, hit the ice with strength and conditioning coach John Whitesides for approximately 35 minutes. Chara looked comfortable chasing pucks, taking passes, and skating at a good clip. But Chara only took light wrist shots with little power, and not elevating them into the net. Chara did not attempt any slap shots.

"Slim," coach Claude Julien said when asked about Chara's availability this weekend against Philadelphia and Washington. "But I wouldn't count him out."

When the Zamboni came out to remake the ice for practice, Chara made his way to the dressing room. Chara did not join his teammates for practice and was unavailable for comment.

The Bruins are 0-2-1 without their captain, who was injured in the second period of last Saturday's 2-1 win over the Capitals after attempting a one-timer. Chara missed approximately half of the second period that day, but returned for the third. He scored the tying goal on the power play when he one-timed a pass from David Krejci past Cristobal Huet.

The Bruins have scored only two goals during Chara's absence. Julien reiterated that Chara's injury is minor.

"Somewhere down the road, there's a story that came out that said he's out for the year," said Julien, referring to a CBC Hockey Night in Canada report. "He's not. I don't know how many times I've got to tell you guys that it is short-term. Slim this weekend means there's always a possibility, but doubtful. But that means he's close. I think that's what we're trying to tell everybody."

Chara also skated on his own prior to Thursday's morning skate at TD Banknorth Garden.

"We're at the stage where he needs to try it on his own," Julien said. "Once he feels comfortable, we'll get him right back in with us. Once he's in with us, that probably means he's ready to go."

Room for three more

While Chara skated with Whitesides at one end of the rink, Patrice Bergeron, Andrew Alberts, and Manny Fernandez worked at the other end along with Petteri Nokelainen and Alex Auld.

When their teammates joined them, Bergeron, Alberts, and Fernandez remained and participated in their first full practice since suffering their injuries. Fernandez was cleared for the entire session, sharing time with Auld to stare down shooters. Bergeron and Alberts have not been cleared for contact, so they didn't participate in three-on-two drills that included puck battles down low.

"It's healthy for everybody right now for those guys to be in with us and for our team to see those guys," Julien said. "All three of them are pretty impact players. To have those guys with us is encouraging for everybody. I think that's the whole purpose behind it. They're at the stage where they can skate with us. They're staying away from contact drills, but the rest is good for them. They're able to get to the next level."

Bergeron estimated that his heart rate peaked at approximately 170 beats per minute yesterday. He wore the white practice jersey of the first line instead of a red, noncontact uniform, but because he only took part in shooting drills, he said he wasn't concerned about anyone hitting him.

Break in the action

Marc Savard was given yesterday off, but he will be ready for this afternoon's game against the Flyers. Julien noted that Savard was hit on the back of the leg with a puck Thursday. Nokelainen took Savard's spot between P.J. Axelsson and Glen Murray in practice . . . Tim Thomas, today's expected starter in net for the Bruins, said the Flyers like to make cross-ice passes and rip off one-timers. Philadelphia has scored 217 goals, fifth most in the Eastern Conference . . . The Bruins enter today's showdown with a 1-point lead over the eighth-place Flyers. "I don't think you could ask for a better scenario," said Julien, hopeful that a big-time matchup will shake his team from its 1-4-2 stumble. "Hey, let's put it on the line here. I don't like excuses. I don't like reasons. I'd just like to see us find a way to win. It's time we stepped up to the plate and did that. Whatever it takes. We can talk all we want about not scoring goals. Well, let's just create situations where we can get more and we're able to score goals. Let's take those excuses, throw them out the window, and go out there and do our job."

Fluto Shinzawa can be reached at fshinzawa@globe.com.