Bruins' Captain Chara Talks Playoff Push
BOSTON (CBS) - Bruins' defenseman Zdeno Chara is pleased with the way his team is playing, and hopes to continue that success as they push for the playoffs.
"I think that we want to continue to play like we have the last 15-20 games," Chara said Wednesday night on 98.5 The Sports Hub's The Hockey Show. "I think we've played with a lot of energy and emotions and we have to continue to do that. We have such a strong, good team that any time you put a lot of pressure on the opposition, with the forecheck and physical play, we have a good chance to win a hockey game."
The Bruins open up a four-game home stand Thursday night when the Dallas Stars come to town. Boston has won eight of their last 11, and sit two points ahead of Montreal in the Northeast Division.
With just 31 games to go in the regular season, the Captain still thinks the Bruins could be better.
"There's always room to improve in everything," Chara said. "If you want to be successful you have to get better a little bit in everything, especially heading to the playoffs. We have to continue to try get better and ready for the playoffs."
The Bruins lead the NHL allowing just 2.14 goals per game, mostly thanks to the stellar goaltending by Tim Thomas. But Chara also says if the guys in front of Thomas are physical enough, it makes them that much harder to score on.
"We take a lot of pride in defending, and shutting guys down," he said. "Obviously we have good enough guys to play that kind of system and personnel that don't want to be scored on and are playing with a lot of pride."
Wearing the Captain's "C" on his sweater is something Chara takes a lot pride in. He leads by example both on and off the ice, stepping up when the team loses focus of their main goal of bringing a Stanley Cup to Boston.
What makes the team better is the fact Chara is not alone when it comes to setting the team straight.
"We have a really good group of guys that share that responsibility, leading with Mark Recchi who is such an experienced guy and has been around he block," Chara said of his 43-year-old teammate. "To have his experiences and advice and wisdom is always huge. (Patrice) Bergeron is stepping up every year more and more, along with Andrew Ference and Mark Stuart. We have so many guys that are not afraid to step up and say what needs to be said when the time comes."
You can listen to Thursday's Stars-Bruins game on 98.5 The Sports Hub starting at 6:30pm with the Dunkin Donuts Bruins Pre-game show.
