Patrice Bergeron saw it all happen. Bergeron, one of three Bruins on the ice at the time, had shifted down low with fellow penalty-killer Jason York to take away any cross-crease passes. Instead, Bergeron heard his new teammate growl in pain and skate slowly off the ice, wondering whether ``Big Zee," as he's known around the NHL, had put himself out even before the regular season had begun.
``At first I was scared," Bergeron recalled last week. ``[Souray] has got a pretty good shot."
Later that night, Bergeron breathed easier when he saw Chara walking around the dressing room without much of a hitch in his stride. In retrospect, the scare had nothing but positive results. The Bruins used five defensemen for two periods en route to a win. Coach Dave Lewis used the moment as a teaching tool, reminding his players that the club's highest-paid employee -- the one who had led two weeks of informal practices at Ristuccia Arena before the start of training camp -- had sacrificed his body in a meaningless exhibition game.
And to a man, every Bruin walked away from the Montreal rink that night understanding the significance of what had taken place.
``It showed," Bergeron said of Chara's move, ``a desire to win."
Pillars of progress During that five-on-three disadvantage against Montreal, the three penalty-killers represented the pillars of the 2006-07 Bruins.
There was Chara, the $37.5 million hulk the club signed July 1 when it fished perhaps the best free agent out of the unrestricted pool. On that day, the team also nabbed center Marc Savard (four years, $20 million), who was without question the most dangerous Bruin during the preseason, exhibiting the vision and smarts that show why his teammates call him ``Savvy."
There was York, the veteran defenseman whom the Bruins signed to a one-year, $500,000 deal July 21 along with end-of-roster players Wade Brookbank and Jeff Hoggan.
And there was Bergeron, the 21-year-old who's played with a wisdom beyond his years, and was rewarded for his play -- and for his future production -- with a five-year, $23.75 million contract Aug. 22 that will pay him more per season than 100-point scorer and Stanley Cup winner Eric Staal.
Big-name free agents expected to log heavy minutes.
