The Bruins didn't appear to get the emotional lift they should have gotten from watching Shawn Thornton exact revenge on Matt Cooke just two minutes into the game, and once again they were in need of a spark. Chara decided that, as captain, it was time to act. So he dropped the gloves with Penguins forward Michael Rupp.
"At that point, we had nothing," Chara said. "I really felt that was the right moment to bring some energy back, some emotion. We could use a little break, so I just picked the time to do it."
Unfortunately, it didn't work. The Bruins were outhustled and outshot 15-5 in the second period. They didn't register a third-period shot until the 9:18 mark.
"Like I said, it’s something that we all have to look in the mirror and really ask [ourselves] if [we] did [our] best and put it out there," Chara said. "It's not that we win as a team and we lose as individuals, you know — we lost as a team and we all have to be better."
Chara also said that he and his teammates must grasp the urgency of the situation they find themselves in: With only 12 games remaining in the regular season, the Bruins are desperately clinging to a playoff spot.
"These games we have to put behind us," Chara said. "I know it’s the same — you guys probably hear [it] a lot — but we have to look forward to the next game. [Upcoming games against New York and Atlanta] are going to be huge, huge games for us so, for sure, we have to get ready for those."
But why hasn't this team been able to turn things around earlier and bring that emotion to the rink every game?
The captain is just as baffled as the fans and media, but the reality is that the B's haven't found what they need yet.
"We’re all looking for the answers, and we [go through] stretches where we have one, two good games and one, two bad games," Chara said. "Consistency is one word we can use. We have to find that, and with that [comes] the emotions — you know, passion, pride, all that stuff.
"It’s been one of those things that we push ourselves [forward] for one game, and then we slip back. It is, for sure, frustrating."
