Nicholas J. Cotsonika’s Three Periods column appears on Thursdays. This week’s topics include a “major” change by Zdeno Chara, the real-world impact of the Canadiens’ leadership change and notes on Daniel Alfredsson, Tyler Myers, Brian Campbell, Dallas Eakins, Jason Spezza, Scott Hartnell & more.

FIRST PERIOD: Zdeno Chara makes ‘major’ change as he tries to remain a force

Zdeno Chara came up with a plan after the Boston Bruins lost to the Montreal Canadiens in the playoffs. General manager Peter Chiarelli said he decided to “tweak his training.” Chara said he did more than tweak it.

“The summer,” Chara said, “was major.”

Chara has always worked hard. He has had to. He is 6-foot-9, and this is hockey, not basketball. His size is a disadvantage as much as an advantage. He turned himself from a project drafted in the third round into a winner of the Norris Trophy as the NHL’s best defenseman.

Now he has to work differently. He has to move his 255 pounds in a game that is getting faster and faster, and he has to stop – or at least slow – the inevitable decline of every athlete. He’s 37 years old.

Up to now, much of the focus has been on fatigue.

View photos At 37, Chara is trying to slow his inevitable decline by speeding up his game. (USA Today) More

The Bruins barely reduced Chara’s ice time last season, from an average of 24:56 in 2012-13 to 24:39 in 2013-14. But they put him in front of the net instead of at the point on the power play, so he wouldn’t have to skate back, retrieve the puck and lug it up ice as often.

They dramatically reduced his ice time in the playoffs, from an average of 29:32 in 2013, when they made the Stanley Cup Final, to 25:20 in 2014, when they lost in the second round. They have cut his ice time even more in the early going this season. He played between 21:17 and 22:43 in the first four games, before playing 28:08 through three periods and overtime Wednesday night.

But it isn’t just about endurance. It’s about explosiveness.

The season is a marathon, but it isn’t one long run. It is a series of sprints, a series of shifts. Chara used to do long-distance cycling and running. He used to do a lot of heavy weightlifting. He won’t detail what he did over the summer, but he said he did more hockey-specific exercises. He trained in shorter bursts.

“Hockey, in general, is so hard to train for,” Chara said. “In the summer we all take a break from the ice. You try to replace it either by running, biking or doing other stuff. But you go back to the ice and training camp, and it feels so awkward.”

When Chara returned to training camp this year, he felt good. His fitness test results are usually outstanding, but this time, despite his age, they actually improved. His running was faster. His vertical jump was higher. His pull-ups went from 31 to 35.

“The power metrics jumped,” Chiarelli said.

Chara looks slow because of his size. Teams try to tire him out by making him skate. It’s not just Montreal, though the speedy Canadiens are a particularly troublesome matchup for the Bruins. It’s not going to stop.

But with less ice and more power, maybe Chara can be efficient and remain a force.

SECOND PERIOD: The real-world impact of the Canadiens’ leadership change

Brendan Gallagher broke into the NHL when he was 20 years old, and he broke into the NHL with the Montreal Canadiens – the most storied team, the most intense market. He lived with Josh Gorges for his first two seasons, sleeping in the basement of Gorges’ home, riding to and from the rink in Gorges’ car.

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