Boston GM Peter Chiarelli expects to see a better Zdeno Chara when the playoffs begin.
Chiarelli didn't sound satisfied with the play of the Bruins captain when he spoke to the media on Monday. "For Z, he's obviously a very valuable player, one of the best, if not the best, defensemen in the league. Obviously you want him to be firing on all cylinders. So like the rest of them, he's got to get his game back," Chiarelli said. "With Z, it's about a strong defensive game, nothing fancy, big shots, a lot of straight lines. He is, obviously, important to the team, and what he does a lot of guys follow. He's got a lot of experience and we expect him to get his game where it has to be." Chara finished the regular season with two assists and a minus-3 rating in his last eight games. He'll be tasked with shutting down Toronto's Phil Kessel in the opening round of the playoffs and he's done a good job of that in regular-season play since Kessel was traded to the Leafs.