CHICAGO -- Boston Bruins coach Claude Julien essentially dared the Chicago Blackhawks to try to expose Zdeno Chara in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final on Saturday at United Center (8 p.m. ET; NBC, CBC, RDS).
"If that's what they think, then they should try it again," Julien said.
Julien was responding to a question about comments Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews made Thursday. Chara was on the ice for five goals against in Chicago's 6-5 overtime win in Game 4, and it prompted Toews to say the Blackhawks found a way to "expose" the towering Bruins captain.
"I think maybe at times in the first couple of games we were giving him a little bit too much respect by trying to keep the puck away from him," Toews said. "He's not a guy that we should be afraid of. We should go at him, protect the puck from him, make plays around him and through him.
"They've got a handful of solid players that we want to key on every single night, and he's one of those guys, so we'll try and keep that going."
Asked Saturday for a response to Toews' comments, Julien basically said go ahead and try to do it again.
"People talk about five goals against, but were they all his fault? None of them were his fault, actually," Julien said. "Just one of those situations where we feel he's one of our best players on our team. He's one of the best defensemen in the League, so I don't think there's too many flaws in his game.
"But if they want to think that way, they're entitled to it. I have no response to that except to know that my player is going to be good and ready [in Game 5], and they can try it again if that's what they think."
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