Chiarelli Talks Penguins And Iginla On Sports Final: 'Don't Really Look At It As Storyline'
BOSTON (CBS) – As the Boston Bruins get set to take on the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Eastern Conference Finals, a lot of focus will return to Jerome Iginla's choosing of the Pens over the B's at the NHL Trade deadline.
But the man who tried to get Iginla in a spoked-B doesn't want to hear about it.
"I don't really look at it as a storyline," Chiarelli told Dan Roche for WBZ-TV's Sports Final on Sunday night. "Here is a player we tried to get and it was well publicized. Any other year that type of knowledge wouldn't have happened, but it did happen and everyone knows our business."
There's little doubt that Bruins fans don't share the same view as Chiarelli, and will let Iginla hear about it when the Penguins come to Boston for Games 3 and 4 -- whenever that may be.
But instead of focusing on something that happened back in March, Chiarelli wants to focus on how his Bruins can slow down a powerful and star-studded Pittsburgh team.
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The Penguins are coming off a strong series against the Ottawa Senators, scoring four or more goals in each of their wins (including 7-goal and 6-goal outbursts in Games 4 and 5, respectively). When asked about the Penguins, Chiarelli brought up their strong play with a man-advantage. Pittsburgh has scored 13 power play goals in 11 games, and Chiarelli stressed that the Bruins will to play disciplined hockey if they want to return to the Stanley Cup Finals.
"We have to stay out of the box (because) they have a real terrific power play. Our team is fore-check, pucks deep and speed through the neutral zone; we have to continue to do that and we'll have to continue to try and generate chances equally off the rush and off the fore-check," said Chiarelli. "We have to stay out of the box, they have some world class players in (Evgeni) Malkin, (Sidney) Crosby and (Kris) Letang, so they can snap it around pretty good."
Read: Rask Shows True Self In Game 5 Win Over Rangers
Two of Crosby's seven goals this postseason have come on the power play, with five of his eight assists also on the man-advantage.
A major part of Boston's success against the Rangers was rookie defenseman Torey Krug, who has not only emerged on the blue-line but a legit scoring threat as well. He potted four goals in five games in Boston's series win over the New York Rangers while filling in for injured defenseman Andrew Ference.
Though Krug was heavily scouted by the Bruins he was never drafted. But the strong leadership he showed while at Michigan State caught the team's attention, and they signed the former Hobey Baker finalist in March of 2012.
"We basically thought he would be a real good fit and you'll get to know him. He has a real good head on his shoulders – you see it on the ice but he's a real terrific leader. He was a two-year captain as a sophomore and a junior at Michigan State which speaks for itself," said Chiarelli.
Read: Shawn Thornton Gives Krug A New Nickname
"He's a terrific kid, obviously not big but strong and thick and plays a real heady game," said Chiarelli. "One of the things that is so mature about his game is he never has to really stick handle before he moves the puck. He knows where it's going and sees the ice very well. We call it 'dusting it off'; he doesn't have to dust it off, it's (quick) to the next guy. He's a mature player for his age."
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