Chara decides to spend 'off' day having a blast

WILMINGTON - After playing an average of nearly 30 minutes three times in four nights, Zdeno Chara could have taken yesterday off. But did you expect him to?

Chara was on the ice 15 minutes early at Ristuccia Arena. He dumped a milk crate of pucks in the high slot and started firing wrist shots at an empty net. He blasted one-timers from the blue line, never stopping for a break. And then he pushed it to another level.

He and assistant coach Geoff Ward lined up 60 pucks on the blue line, inches apart. A few youngsters pressed their noses against the glass. Even his teammates stopped running a drill at the other end to watch the show.

Crash . . . crash . . . crash. The big man raised his arms and brought them down again and again. One by one, the pucks zoomed toward the net.

"A little stress relief," he called it afterward.

The Bruins could be stressed at this point. With three shootout losses (two to Northeast Division teams) in their last four games, they're trying to avoid gripping their sticks too tightly.

Patrice Bergeron has played excellent two-way hockey, but hasn't scored this season. His 22 shots are the third most among NHL forwards without a goal. He could be frustrated. He could be stressed. He's trying not to be.

"I thought we've played pretty well these last few games," said Bergeron. "We can't get too low, we just have to make sure we prepare ourselves well."

Yes, the good signs are there. Yes, it's early in the season. But when does positive thinking become stale? How many times can you make a game plan, execute so well, and then leave a point on the table?

"It's not an easy position to be in," said coach Claude Julien. "I guess you need a little bit of luck, a [few] breaks. It's been tough losing that way, especially when you see your team in that 65-minute span play well enough to win."

"We know we're playing well," said Chara. "We can't get down on ourselves just because we've lost shootouts. Obviously, that's one area we need to improve and get better, but it's not easy. As long as we play as well as we have the last two or three games, we'll be fine."

As Chara spoke, he sat in his locker-room stall, drenched in sweat. Assistant coach Craig Ramsay passed by, giving the captain a quizzical look.

"That's your day off?" asked Ramsay.

"It is. Believe it or not, I feel much better now, actually," said Chara, still breathing heavily.

No matter how much work the Bruins do these days, they can't seem to get a win. So, they work harder.

Axelsson practices

After finishing a tip-in drill with Chara, P.J. Axelsson (back spasms) gave a salute to his teammates. "I'm back," he declared with a goofy grin. But whether he returns to the lineup tonight against Toronto is unknown.

"He was fine," said Julien. "I think our goal is to have him back [tonight]. He'll take a morning skate, and we'll see how he feels."

Julien added that everyone who played in the games earlier this week should be available, including Vladimir Sobotka and Aaron Ward, who both appeared to be stung by pucks Tuesday night. Chuck Kobasew (fractured ankle) was in the building and walking fine, but should be out a couple of more weeks.

Solid partnership

Though neither has grabbed the reins as the No. 1 netminder, Tim Thomas and Manny Fernandez are doing just fine, said Julien. "They're definitely supportive of each other," he said. "Despite what it could be, it's the other way around" . . . Thomas has a cold, but it shouldn't keep him out of action. "Sounds a lot better than it did yesterday, if you can believe it," said a hacking Thomas . . . Tough guy Shawn Thornton, who denied a dance request from Buffalo's Andrew Peters Tuesday night, said he regretted dropping the gloves against Pittsburgh's Eric Godard Monday. "No reason to do it then," Thornton said . . . Equipment manager Mark Dumas spent some time talking with defenseman Andrew Ference about the rash of broken sticks the Bruins have experienced of late. Ference jammed his into the boards Tuesday, busting it in two. Against Pittsburgh Monday, Marc Savard broke his on a one-timer, and Bergeron spent the final moments of overtime taking on Evgeni Malkin and Co. without a stick. Not too much can be done about it, according to Dumas. "Bad batch," he said . . . The Bruins will hold Hockey Fights Cancer Night tonight at the Garden, which will include a 50/50 raffle, with proceeds going to the Neely Foundation and Boston Bruins Foundation.