Zdeno Chara recalls playing through the 2019 Final with a broken jaw (VIDEO)

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Dorin Canaday
January 25, 2023 (0:06)

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Zdeno Chara retired this summer after an incredible 24 years, with 14 of those as the captain of the Boston Bruins.

Amid all the milestones and accolades, the 2019 Stanley Cup Final was a moment that defined his Hall of Fame career.

After breaking his jaw in game four, Chara didn't miss a game and averaged over 18 minutes per. Unfortunately, the Bruins lost in seven to the St. Louis Blues, but the defenseman proved why hockey players are some of the toughest on the planet.

Big Zee appeared on Spittin Chiclets on Tuesday, and shared an amazing story about what he went through during that Final.

�'We stayed overnight in St. Louis. I didn't sleep a bit. It was just the bleeding, pain. Just kind of waiting and waiting for the morning to come.''

�'Finally got on the plane, went right from the plane to the hospital, had my surgery done. Woke up from my surgery and I'm actually feeling pretty good. So Don Sweeney [and] Cam Neely came to see me and they're like �How do you feel?' I'm like, �I'm feeling good. I think I'm going to try to play.' �'

�'They're looking at me like, �Uh, whatever � he's still probably under the influence of morphine.' But I'm actually feeling pretty good. So now I'm talking to doctors, and they all give me the precautions of what can happen, right? And like, �Well, okay, I'm willing to take it and I want to go out there� �'

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But it wasn't only a broken jaw that he had to play through during the gruelling seven-game series, as he shared that he found out about other injuries afterwards.

�'At that time, I didn't know I had a broken elbow, I had torn groin. I had the jaw. So I was under painkillers, but I only could take so much that would be healthy. So you still felt obviously the pain every time you got hit.''

Almost unbelievable that Chara was able to play though all of that, but just like Patrice Bergeron in 2013, those two brought a culture to Boston that will never be forgotten.

Check out Chara's entire interview below:

Previously on Bruins Insider

MUST-SEE: Rick Tocchet's tenure in Vancouver starts off terribly

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VIDEO: Taylor Hall breaks 16 game slump to get Bs on the board

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Patrice Bergeron

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25 JANVIER \| 74 ANSWERS Zdeno Chara recalls playing through the 2019 Final with a broken jaw (VIDEO) What moment do you remember Zdeno Chara for?
Lifting the Stanley Cup (2011)	47	63.5 %
Standing ovation after breaking jaw (2019)	19	25.7 %
Norris win (2008-09)	0	0 %
Infamous hit on Max Pacioretty (2011)	8	10.8 %
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