Boston Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara, who is day-to-day because of an upper-body injury, skated on his own for a second straight day Tuesday but has been ruled out of the Bruins' preseason game against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday (7 p.m. ET, NHLN).
Chara was injured during the Bruins' 4-3 shootout victory against the New York Rangers at TD Garden on Sept. 24. He left the game less than five minutes in after a hit by Rangers forward Ryan Bourque. He had 1:57 of ice time and one shot on goal.
"I know you guys make a lot out of 'day-to-day,' but that's the way we look at it," Bruins coach Claude Julien told CSNNE.com. "It's day-to-day and every day that it keeps getting better is encouraging. Is he playing [Wednesday against the Rangers]? No. I can tell you that. But he's still day-to-day and he continues to skate on his own. Hopefully we'll see him join the group soon."
Chara, 38, had eight goals and 20 points in 63 games last season. He missed two months because a knee injury.
After playing the Rangers, the Bruins' final preseason game is Oct. 2 at the Washington Capitals (7 p.m. ET, NHLN). They open the regular season at home Oct. 8 against the Winnipeg Jets.
Julien did not rule out Chara playing against the Capitals in the preseason finale.
"Every day is a new day to evaluate him," Julien said. "We'll see how he feels moving forward here."