DALLAS — On Friday, Tuukka Rask returned from a leave of absence. The same could not be said for Zdeno Chara (left knee), Charlie McAvoy (head), Brandon Carlo (upper body), Kevan Miller (right hand), John Moore (lower body), and Urho Vaakanainen (head), six defensemen who would make for a pretty good varsity six-pack.



Sprinkle in a banged-up Patrice Bergeron, compromised after being ridden into the boards by Radek Faksa, and the Bruins were at risk of Tyler Seguin, Jamie Benn, and the rest of the Stars running rampant over their riddled roster.



Yet the Bruins, with Connor Clifton and Jakub Zboril making their NHL debuts, recorded a most improbable point in a 1-0 overtime loss to Dallas. The only blemish was an overtime rush goal by Jason Dickinson after Brad Marchand failed to connect with David Pastrnak up the ice.



“I don’t think it was difficult at all,” Rask (36 saves) said of playing behind defensemen who should have been wearing...