Those intangibles were on full display during the third period on Monday night. After being advised not to return to play by team doctors, Chara - donning a full shield on his helmet - returned to the bench in support of his teammates, despite being "very uncomfortable" as Cassidy put it following the game.
"He's an absolute warrior," said Marchand. "I think if it wasn't for the doctor, he would have played in that game. He's that kind of guy. You're gonna have to kill him to keep him off. He's an absolute leader and those things you just gain respect for him every single day with what he's willing to go through to lead this team. Incredible person."
Should Chara - and Grzelcyk - be out of the lineup for Game 5, Cassidy acknowledged the possibility of playing seven defensemen, which would give him some situational options, given that one of the replacements (Urho Vaakanainen, Jeremy Lauzon, or Jakub Zboril) could be making his postseason debut.
"The back end could have a domino effect," said Cassidy, who has also mentioned Steven Kampfer as an option to return to the lineup. "If we're out two D, Grizz and Zee, you might have to play seven defensemen. You're putting guys in there that haven't played a ton, so maybe we've got to look at how this best works out for us, use a guy situationally to take Zee's PK minutes if need be, another guy could match up. We could be reaching into an area where a young kid has played in the playoffs, so we have to be careful there."
While things seem a bit dire on the back end, the Bruins are still relishing their position. With the series tied at 2, it's a best of three for the Stanley Cup, with two of those games on home ice.
"I think that we're in a great position. They're in a great position," said Marchand. "We're both best of three for the Stanley Cup. We're all excited. If you give any team in the league the opportunity at the start of the year, every team is gonna jump on that.
"We're not gonna sit back on that and rely on it, but we're excited about the opportunity. There's three games left in the season and we're gonna give it our all and hopefully it goes in our favor."