In completing the sweep over the Carolina Hurricanes last Thursday, the Boston Bruins bought Zdeno Chara 11 days to recover from an undisclosed injury, and the captain says he's "taking it one day at a time" in order to return for Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final on May 27, according to NHL.com's Eric Russo.

Chara returned to practice on Monday and worked out with the full team for the first time since sitting out the Bruins' conference-clinching victory.

The 42-year-old won a cup with the Bruins in 2011 and has been a part of many series-clinching victories over his career. Despite his experience, Chara admits that being in the stands for such a critical game was extremely difficult.

"It was, I'm not gonna lie," he said. "Watching games are not fun. You want to play them, you want to be involved in them. It was that feeling of an anxiousness to play. But the guys did a great job."

Chara's 112 playoff games ranks him fourth among NHL defenseman since 2009. Despite all the miles on his odometer, the 21-year veteran is second among Bruins in average time on ice this postseason, logging 22:31 per game.

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Carolina Hurricanes captain Justin Williams has yet to determine whether or not he has the desire to return for a 19th NHL season.

"I haven't made a decision yet," Williams said according to NHL.com's Kurt Dusterberg. "You don't do those things irrationally. You put thought into it. You find out inside whether you have the full capabilities emotionally and physically to do it. I put everything I had into it this year. If I have everything again, then I'll be here."

The 37-year-old is set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1, but Williams made it clear that he'd like to remain in Carolina should he sign another NHL contract.

"I've set up shop here and I'm very comfortable here," he said. "I'm not quite sure where anything else would go."

Williams won one of his three Stanley Cups with the Hurricanes in 2006, and said he was proud to make the team relevant again this season.

The veteran led the Hurricanes to the Eastern Conference Final in their first postseason appearance since 2009. In 15 playoff contests, he contributed four goals and seven points.

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Sam Reinhart scored a pair of goals as Canada blanked Denmark 5-0 for its fifth straight win at the worlds on Monday.

Pierre-Luc Dubois, Jared McCann, and Jonathan Marchessault got Canada out to a quick 3-0 lead with tallies in the first nine minutes of the contest. Reinhart put the game away with a goal in the second frame and another in the third.

Mark Stone followed up his hat trick against Germany on Saturday with two assists against the Danes.

Carter Hart and MacKenzie Blackwood combined for Canada's second shutout of the tournament. After making 22 saves, Hart was replaced by the third-string netminder with nine minutes left in regulation in order to get Blackwood some crease time. The 22-year-old made three saves in relief.

Canada improved to 5-1 in the tournament with its only loss coming in its opening contest against Finland. The Canadians close out the preliminary stage Tuesday against the U.S.

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For St. Louis Blues netminder Jordan Binnington and forward Jaden Schwartz, Game 5 of the Western Conference Final against the San Jose Sharks was a night to remember.

With 21 saves in the Blues' 5-0 victory, Binnington became the first rookie goaltender in the franchise's history to record a shutout in the playoffs, according to NHL Public Relations. The 25-year-old's 11 wins this postseason also marks a franchise record for most in a single playoff run.

For Schwartz, he continued his incredible run with his second hat trick of the postseason, becoming the first player in franchise history to record multiple three-goal efforts in the same playoff run. The last NHLer to accomplish this feat was Detroit Red Wings forward Johan Franzen in 2008.

With just 11 goals in 69 regular-season contests, Schwartz has come alive at the perfect time, as he leads the Blues with 12 goals this postseason and has a chance to break Brett Hull's franchise record of 13 in a single playoff run.

St. Louis is now one win away from its first Stanley Cup Final appearance since 1970 after being in last place in the NHL on Jan. 3.

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It was a tough night at the office for the San Jose Sharks. Not only were they blown out 5-0 by the St. Louis Blues in Game 5 of the Western Conference Final, but they took a few bumps along the way.

The Sharks were hit hard with the injury bug during the contest; at one point in the third period, Joe Pavelski, Erik Karlsson, Joonas Donskoi, and Tomas Hertl were all in the dressing room, leaving San Jose's bench shorthanded.

Karlsson appeared bothered by his already injured groin and the star blue-liner's ice time diminished as the game wore on. After playing 7:29 in the opening frame, Karlsson logged just 3:03 in the second period and did not come out for the third.

Pavelski was shaken up after taking a hard hit from Blues defenseman Alex Pietrangelo early in the third period. The Sharks captain headed directly to the room and did not return.

Blues forward Ivan Barbashev caught Hertl up high with a first-period hit. It's unclear if the hit was the cause, but like Karlsson, Hertl saw his ice time decrease throughout the game and he did not emerge from the dressing room for the third period.

Donskoi took a puck to the face in the third stanza on a clearing attempt by teammate Justin Braun. He was the only injured Shark to return to the contest.

San Jose will hope to have everyone healthy with its season on the line in Game 6 on Tuesday night in St. Louis.

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San Jose Sharks defenseman Erik Karlsson is in the lineup for Game 5 of the Western Conference Final against the St. Louis Blues, head coach Peter DeBoer confirmed prior to the contest.

More to come.

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