Chara/By S. Bradley

BOSTON — Bruins head coach Claude Julien offered this update on captain Zdeno Chara this morning:

“He got treated for a little bit of dehydration and that’s basically all there is to that. Until our medical staff tells me he can’t go, he’s in tonight.”

The Boston Herald originally reported today that Chara was treated last night. The Bruins later confirmed that news.

The Bruins held an optional morning skate TD Garden in preparation for Game 2 of their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series with Montreal.

Julien would not say if Chara stayed at the hospital overnight nor would he provide any other details. He said he will not be the guy making the final decision on Chara’s status for the game.

“I think if it’s up to him, he’ll definitely play,” said Julien. “The only people that’ll hold him back are our doctors. That’s the type of players you want on your team and he’s got that attitude.”

Chara’s teammates weren’t revealing any details either when they were made available to the media in the dressing room.

“I didn’t know until last night. Obviously, I honestly don’t know too much about it, so I can’t really comment on it,” said forward Milan Lucic. “I know him real well, he’s a battler. And I’m sure he’ll do whatever he can to be able to get himself ready to play tonight.”

While dehydration can be a serious matter, it’s far from the most severe condition a participant in the Stanley Cup playoffs has conquered to get on the ice. It was just two years ago Mark Recchi had surgery to pass a kidney stone and then played the next night.

Winger Shawn Thornton was with Anaheim all through its run to the Stanley Cup title in 2007 and saw exactly what guys go through to win four rounds of the postseason.

“It’s that time of year; you suck things up. It’s part of the playoffs,” he said. “You can see guys battling through everything. That’s what makes our sport great, right? Guys don’t take nights off for trivial stuff. We battle through it.”