Zdeno Chara has ligament damage

Bruins captain Zdeno Chara suffered ligament damage to his knee and is expected to miss four to six weeks, a source confirmed to ESPNBoston.com.

Chara might need surgery, the source said. He suffered the injury in the first period of Thursday's 3-2 loss to the Islanders and did not return to the game. Afterward, Bruins coach Claude Julien did not have an update on Chara's condition.

"No, no report yet," Julien said. "I haven't even checked in on the situation. First of all, we won't know anything until he sees the proper people in the medical staff. Nothing right now."

Chara's last shift came with 8:13 remaining in the first period. Earlier in the shift, he put a big hit on the Islanders' John Tavares between the circles in front of Bruins goaltender Niklas Svedberg. Chara did not appear to be injured and finished the shift before going to the locker room.

TSN was first to report that the injury was to Chara's knee.

The Bruins' defensive unit already is down one man with Kevan Miller out indefinitely with a dislocated right shoulder.

"It's very tough," defensemanDennis Seidenbergsaid. "[Chara is] our leader, and it's always tough when a guy like that goes down. We have to embrace the opportunity and play better and make up for that if possible."