(Bruce Bennett - GETTY IMAGES) Jay Beagle said he believes the key for Washington in Wednesday’s Game 7 will be to put pressure — and a pounding — on the Bruins' blueliners.

“I think we’ve just got to continue to work it in their zone and really try to get some sustained pressure down in their end,” Beagle said Monday at KCI. “Really try to get a cycle going and pressure their [defensemen].”

Beagle noted that dishing out hits on the Bruins’ “banged-up” defensemen figures to wear them down, particularly since Boston Coach Claude Julien relies so heavily on Zdeno Chara and Dennis Seidenberg. The B’s third pairing of Mike Mottau and Greg Zanon skated only 9:21 and 9:06, respectively, in Game 6, and took no shifts in overtime.

“I think they’re playing five [defensemen] or four D maybe towards the end, and they were getting banged up and we just got to keep getting it deep and making it hard on those D,” Beagle added. “Make them turn and go collect pucks.”

That likely means lining up 6-foot-9 Chara whenever possible. The 35-year-old ranks eighth in ice time per game (27:22).

“Obviously, you want to get the pucks deep, and if they get to the pucks first, you want to make sure you get contact,” Beagle said. “Every little bump turns out to be that much more severe when it’s in Game 7. Everything hurts a little bit more. The body starts to get beat up a little bit, so yeah, I mean, he’s a tough guy. We’ve just got to continue to put the puck deep, get some bangs on him and try and turn pucks over.”

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