Big Z drops by Garden for brief ceremony
Zdeno Chara’s long shadow spread once more across the Garden ice on Saturday, the sureshot Hall of Fame defenseman, aided by sons Ben and Zack,
dropping the ceremonial puck prior to the Bruins-Wild matinee on Causeway Street.
The smiling Big Z, outfitted in a charcoal suit rather than his customary Black and Gold (No. 33 on the back), dropped the biscuit between Patrice Bergeron, his successor as captain, and Wild captain Jared Spurgeon.
The sellout crowd, many of whom were on their feet for the brief ceremony, applauded the loudest prior to the puck drop when TD Garden’s big screen showed Chara shaking the Stanley Cup high over his head the night the Bruins clinched the 2011 Cup in Vancouver.
“He’s a guy I have so much respect for,” said veteran winger Nick Foligno,
who captained the Blue Jackets for multiple seasons. “He came here and he changed the culture completely. And you know the way he played, how big he was, how he dominated and the way he worked at his craft — I always admired that about him as a professional.
Chara, 45, over the summer announced his retirement, signing a ceremonial contract to retire as a Bruin, the club he captained for 14 seasons. The 6foot-9-inch Big Z called it a career with 1,680 regular-season games on his resume — seventh all-time in the NHL and No. 1 among defensemen.
“I’d heard so much about the character of the man,” said Bruins coach Jim Montgomery. “And the values and integrity . . . I am very thankful to him because I know what the culture is like in that dressing room and I think he’s the one that changed it.”
Chara, near monastic in his training, played at a trim and fit 250 pounds. Some six months off skates, he looked like he could suit up again, though a reporter kidded Foligno that Big Z had obviously “let himself go” in retirement.
“Yeah, my God!,” said Foligno, playing along with the joke. “I think he’s lost weight — how is that possible?! The guy’s a [specimen].” Former Friar connects
Ex-Providence College Friar Brandon Duhaime connected with a shorthander to post the Wild to a 1-0 lead. It was the first lead by an opponent on Garden ice this season.
Duhaime, the 106th pick in the
2016 draft, turned pro in 2019, following his junior season with the Friars. He finally cracked the Wild varsity last season, collecting 17 points in 80 games as a bottom-six forward.
It was the second shorty the Bruins have allowed in six games, after yielding only seven last season.
Seguin playing like a star
The Dallas Stars, who gave Montgomery his first shot as an NHL bench boss, will be at the Garden Tuesday night.
Ex-Bruin Tyler Seguin, his offense muted the last couple of seasons, largely due to a collection of injuries, has looked more like the point-per-game version of himself again in the Stars lineup.
Confidence, Seguin recently noted to
Mike Heika on dallasstars.com, has had a lot to do with his uptick.
“When you have swagger,” said Seguin, now 30 years old, “you’re not thinking — you’re very instinctive. I feel that’s when I play my best.”
Jake DeBrusk, 2-3–5 thus far in the new season, is similarly more productive when he plays with pace and confidence — which began to emerge last season when Bruce Cassidy made him a regular component in the top six.
Another shot for Swayman
Jeremy Swayman, torched for six goals in the recent 7-5 loss in Ottawa, will be back in net Tuesday vs. the Stars ... A.J. Greer was the odd man out of the bottom six on Saturday. Montgomery made clear he’s liked Greer’s game, but he wants to see what different looks he can get from mixing the bottom six and he also likes keeping the working help guessing a little about whether they’ll be in the lineup. It promotes competition . . . The Bruins finished with a 43-27 shot edge, the first time this season they’ve broken into the 40s. Through six games, they own a 219-189 shot lead, a 15.9 percent advantage . . . Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci combined to win 27 of 39 faceoffs, a stunning 69.2 percent . . . The Bruins attempted 74 shots, while the Wild fired only 45 times. Trent Frederic and
Jakub Zboril were the only two Bruins not to land a shot on Minnesota goalie
Marc-Andre Fleury.