BOSTON -- "Good but could be better."

Those were the words of Bruins coach Claude Julien after Friday's practice about captain Zdeno Chara's play through the first 11 games of the season.

While that doesn't sound like as much of an insult as a sentence involving one's mother and Army boots, it was enough to spark the Norris Trophy-winning defenseman Saturday at TD Garden against the Edmonton Oilers. Along with his season-long blue-line partner Derek Morris, Chara kept the Oilers' top line of Shawn Horcoff, Ales Hemsky and Dustin Penner without a shot for 40 minutes.

After two periods, the Oilers were so frustrated they broke up the line for the third period. It didn't help, and the Bruins took home a 2-0 win. Once the dust settled on the shutout, Chara wouldn't fess up to scouring the Internet or the newspapers to find his coach's comments. But he admitted to hearing some of the criticism.

"I just heard some comments; he said I've been good. And obviously I know that when you are one of the top players in the league, good is not good enough," Chara said. "You have to play almost perfect every game. And that's the way it is, that's what comes with it. When you're one of the better players in the league and the captain and you carry the team, you have to accept that. So that's normal."

Horcoff and Hemsky finished without any shots on net, and the Oilers mustered just 19.

"Oh my God, he was a beast out there," Horcoff said of Chara. "The most impressive thing with him is his reach. One time I was wide open in the slot and [Robert Nilsson] passed it to me and out of nowhere you see this black stick -- and it's just definitely a weapon. When you play, you kind of get a feeling for what the normal reach is and you try to find that space. But he's a big boy. I'm glad he's in the East."

While the stat-keeping at the Garden is suspect (Vladimir Sobotka, no hits?), Chara was credited with eight hits in 25:01 of ice time. Julien lauded his captain's "controlled edge" and dominance along the boards. The coach said that energy "spreads through the team." Morris is the most direct recipient of that feeling as Chara's right-hand man.

"We take pride," Morris said. "We get scored on, we're mad. We're playing better. And when he's playing like that -- a little meaner, a little looser with the puck -- it shows."

The Oilers were glad to get out of town knowing they won't see the Bruins' hulking defenseman again this season (unless it's in the Stanley Cup finals). On Sunday (at 1 p.m.) it'll be the New York Rangers' turn to deal with the newly invigorated Chara.

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