The 41-year-old Chara missed the past 19 games with a knee injury.
In that time, the Bruins went 10-7-2 and find themselves in the first Eastern Conference wild-card spot, three points back of the Buffalo Sabres for third in the Atlantic Division.
Cassidey also announced that forward Jake DeBrusk, who missed the last nine games with a concussion, and defenseman Kevan Miller, who missed the last 13 contests with a throat injury, will also return against New Jersey.
The Ottawa Senators will be without Craig Anderson for the near future, as the goaltender suffered a concussion before the Christmas break and will miss at least two games, general manager Pierre Dorion announced Thursday.
Anderson has started in 30 of the Senators' 37 games this season, posting a 14-13-3 record and 3.58 goals-against average. He was pulled in his last start against the New Jersey Devils after allowing five goals in two periods.
Fan voting was used to select the captains for each division.
McDavid will represent the Pacific Division for the third straight year. The 21-year-old sits fourth in league scoring with 52 points, seven back of Mikko Rantanen.
Matthews will make his third All-Star game appearance in as many seasons since entering the league. By being named the captain of the Atlantic Division, the 21-year-old earned a Schedule A bonus of $212,500, according to Cap Friendly. Matthews has recorded 19 goals and 34 points in 23 games this season.
Ovechkin's eighth NHL All-Star Game appearance will come this year. The game will also mark the third time in the past four years that he's been named captain of the Metropolitan Division. The sniper leads the NHL with 29 goals through 35 games.
Alex Ovechkin on being at least 10 years older than the three other all-star captains (McDavid, Matthews, MacKinnon).
“I’m kind of the old horse over there, but still getting recognized by the fans, so it’s very important.”
MacKinnon, playing in his third straight All-Star game, will lead the Central Division, ending Nashville Predators defenseman P.K. Subban's two-year run as captain. The 23-year-old sits third in NHL scoring with 56 points.
The annual 3-on-3 tournament takes place Jan. 26 at the SAP Center in San Jose.
Fan voting was used to select the captains for each division.
McDavid will represent the Pacific Division for the third straight year. The 21-year-old sits fourth in league scoring with 52 points, seven back of Mikko Rantanen.
Matthews will make his third All-Star game appearance in as many seasons since entering the league. By being named the captain of the Atlantic Division, the 21-year-old earned a Schedule A bonus of $212,500, according to Cap Friendly. Matthews has recorded 19 goals and 34 points in 23 games this season.
Ovechkin's eighth NHL All-Star Game appearance will come this year. The game will also mark the third time in the past four years that he's been named captain of the Metropolitan Division. The sniper leads the NHL with 29 goals through 35 games.
Alex Ovechkin on being at least 10 years older than the three other all-star captains (McDavid, Matthews, MacKinnon).
“I’m kind of the old horse over there, but still getting recognized by the fans, so it’s very important.”
MacKinnon, playing in his third straight All-Star game, will lead the Central Division, ending Nashville Predators defenseman P.K. Subban's two-year run as captain. The 23-year-old sits third in NHL scoring with 56 points.
The annual 3-on-3 tournament takes place Jan. 26 at the SAP Center in San Jose.
New Jersey Devils forward Taylor Hall will miss Thursday night's road contest against the Boston Bruins with a lower-body injury and is considered day to day, according to Chris Ryan of NJ.com. It's the same ailment that forced the 27-year-old to miss two games earlier in December.
Hall has suited up for 33 of the Devils' 35 games this year, leading his team in scoring with 11 goals and 26 assists. He notched 93 points in 76 games last season en route to winning the Hart Trophy as league MVP.
His absence leaves a huge gap in the lineup for the struggling Devils. New Jersey sits last in the Eastern Conference with 31 points and only has three wins in its last 10 games.
Canada jumped out to an utterly dominant start at the 2019 world juniors, running over Denmark 14-0 on Wednesday night to open round-robin play.
The defending gold medalist got contributions from just about everybody, but Philadelphia Flyers prospect Morgan Frost led the way with three goals and two assists. Captain Maxime Comtois was also a huge factor, becoming just the fifth Canadian player in history to score four goals in a game at the tournament, according to Mark Masters of TSN.
Canada had eight other players put forth multi-point efforts and outshot Denmark 42-12.
Both teams are back in action Thursday, with Canada taking on Switzerland and Denmark facing another tough test versus Russia.
The Minnesota Wild will be without Matt Dumba for a minimum of three months after the defenseman underwent successful surgery to a repair a ruptured right pectoralis muscle, general manager Paul Fenton announced Wednesday.
The 24-year-old was injured Dec. 15 against the Calgary Flames and left the contest after logging just five minutes. He fought Flames forward Matthew Tkachuk in the first period but Fenton couldn't confirm that's when Dumba was hurt.
The news is a huge blow to the Wild, who currently sit seven points outside a Central Division playoff spot and two points back of the final wildcard position in the Western Conference. Dumba ranks second among NHL blue-liners with 12 goals in 32 games. He's also chipped in 10 assists while logging over 23 minutes per night.
The Canadiens waived Alzner on Nov. 26, but he was assigned to the Laval Rocket after going unclaimed. His recall coincides with Montreal blue-liner David Schlemko being placed on injured reserve.
Alzner, 30, signed a five-year, $23.125-million contract with Montreal in July 2017. He's notched one assist in eight games with the Habs this season while posting two points in 10 contests in the minors.
Here are five key questions about the 2019 world junior hockey championship, which begins Dec. 26 in Vancouver.
Who are the favorites?
On paper, four countries stand out: Canada, Finland, Russia, and the United States. You can read more details in our team-by-team previews, but these rosters appear to be the deepest, especially when it comes to goal-scoring threats.
Out of that group, Canada's likely the favorite to repeat as champion, but will be without talented forwards Gabe Vilardi and Alex Formenton due to injuries. Finland's filled with some serious skill, but is also missing several of its best age-eligible players, including Kristian Vesalainen and Jesperi Kotkaniemi. Russia has a deep roster, but it's a green one in terms of experience at the world juniors. Meanwhile, the Americans pack a lot of firepower up front, but will have to face both Finland and Sweden in group play.
There are also potential contenders outside that top four. The Czech Republic - with AHLers Filip Zadina, Martin Kaut, and Martin Necas - is surprisingly deep up front, while Sweden's always a factor, even with a less impressive roster than usual this year.
How will top NHL prospects Jack Hughes (U.S.) and Kaapo Kakko (Finland) fare in their head-to-head matchup?
Icon Sportswire / Icon Sportswire / Getty
It'll sure be fun to find out.
Hughes and Kakko - the top two prospects for the 2019 NHL draft - will meet when the United States and Finland face off on New Year's Eve. Here's how both players are faring in their respective leagues this season:
Hughes: 10 goals, 38 assists in 25 games (U.S. National Team Development Program)
Kakko: 9 goals, 11 assists in 27 games (Finnish Liiga)
It's also important to put those numbers in context. The U.S. National Team Development Program plays against college and USHL opponents, while Kakko is facing men in the Finnish Liiga - a much more difficult situation for a 17-year-old. In both cases, the production is very impressive.
And of course, a player's performance in a short tournament can only affect their draft stock so much. It would take an overwhelmingly good tournament from Kakko (and a pretty bad one from Hughes) for the top-pick conversation to shift significantly in the former's favor. Even then, it's unlikely Kakko would overtake Hughes, but that doesn't mean we can't enjoy watching them battle it out.
Can the Americans replace Brady Tkachuk?
Tkachuk was a big reason that Team USA claimed bronze at the 2018 world juniors, but he'll be sticking with the Ottawa Senators this time around. So, who can help replace his combination of point production and tenacity?
From an offensive perspective, the Americans have serious forward depth. Contributions from guys like Joel Farabee, Ryan Poehling, Jack Hughes, and Oliver Wahlstrom, among others, should lead to plenty of goals.
But how about replacing Tkachuk's feisty, irritating nature? One possible answer might surprise you. In Team USA's final pre-tournament game against the Czech Republic, defenseman Quinn Hughes (Jack's brother) decided he didn't like a hit from Jakub Lauko, and the gloves flew.
"I think me and him were going at it the entire game, and I saw him hit a couple other guys a little dirty, so I just didn’t really appreciate that too much," Quinn said afterward.
When it was pointed out that fighting isn't usually part of his game, the defenseman noted that "it can be." Maybe he got some tips from Tkachuk, his old roommate with the U.S. National Development Team.
How will Kazakhstan stack up against heavyweights?
Laszlo Szirtesi / Getty Images Sport / Getty
Kazakhstan's back in the top division of the world juniors for the first time in a decade, but finds itself in a difficult group that includes the Americans, Sweden, and Finland. One good sign? The Kazakhs won all their pre-tournament games against Canadian university teams, which should at least boost their confidence level.
Their best chance for a win in group play is likely against Slovakia, and even that would be tough to pull off. It's likely we'll see the Kazakhs in the relegation round - will they survive and return in 2020, or end up being a one-and-done?
Meanwhile, Germany won the lower-level tournament earlier this month, earning a spot at the world juniors in 2020.
Who will be the top scorer?
In short tournaments, a wide range of players can end up with the most points. And the scoring race will be impacted by how often players see the ice and whether they're given power-play opportunities - those on deeper rosters will face more competition for minutes from their star teammates.
Meanwhile, the top scorer will likely come from a team that goes deeper into the tournament, which is no guarantee for anyone - even the favorites. From a viewer's perspective, that unpredictability is fun.
Of course, this is not an exhaustive list. And every edition of the world juniors also winds up featuring an under-the-radar player who lights it up.
That's the beauty of a short tournament - almost anything can happen.
Hannah Stuart keeps a close eye on both drafted and draft-eligible prospects and can usually be found trying to learn more about hockey analytics. She has previously written for FanRag Sports, The Hockey Writers, and Hooked On Hockey Magazine, and can also be found at High Heels and High Sticks. Find her on Twitter @HockeyWthHannah.
Finding the right role for every player is imperative to success in today's NHL. Sometimes all it takes is a change of scenery or a bump in the lineup for players to reach newfound heights. Here are three players who have managed to transform their roles successfully so far in 2018-19.
Elias Lindholm, Calgary Flames
A new team and role have done wonders for Lindholm. The 2013 fifth-overall pick spent five seasons trying to find offensive consistency as a center with the Carolina Hurricanes, but has soared to new heights through his first campaign as a winger with the Flames.
The 23-year-old has had the luxury of playing alongside Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan, one of the league's most dynamic duos. Still, Lindholm has made the most of his fresh start, already establishing a new career-high with 17 goals while also on pace for 86 points, which would nearly double his previous best total.
Bo Horvat, Vancouver Canucks
Jeff Vinnick / National Hockey League / Getty
Horvat has elevated his role to become new the leader of the up-and-coming Canucks in the post-Sedin era. He may not be as flashy or gain as much attention as younger dynamos Elias Pettersson and Brock Boeser, but Horvat has evolved from a promising young player to a polished two-way pivot.
Simply put, he's been the Canucks' workhorse. He starts more than 60 percent of shifts in the defensive zone, yet is on pace for a career-best offensive season with 17 goals and 17 assists through 39 games. In addition, Horvat ranks 10th among all NHL centers in averaging 20:47 per contest, and has won 53.8 percent of draws in his breakout campaign.
Tomas Tatar, Montreal Canadiens
Minas Panagiotakis / Getty Images Sport / Getty
After multiple healthy scratches in the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs and being traded twice in the span of seven months, Tatar has finally settled down and found some success in his new role with the Canadiens.
A change of scenery has allowed him to transform his role from an underused bottom-six winger in Vegas to a prominent contributor in the Habs' attack. Tatar's 26 points this season leaves him just 10 shy of his entire total from last season with 45 games to go, and his hot start has helped ease Montreal's transition from a much-publicized split with the man he was traded for - Max Pacioretty.
