As practice reached its end, a long line of fans stood in an aisle in the Garden’s lower bowl, patiently waiting for team president Cam Neely to pose for pictures and sign autographs. When Chara grabbed a microphone and thanked everyone for coming, and especially for enduring through the lockout, the crowd hooted and hollered. Teenage girls screamed for a staged TV shoot, as if Bergeron had just canned the Cup clincher. A guy in a P.J. Stock No. 42 sweater sat near center ice, scrutinizing line combinations and defensive pairings with fixed glare.