In case the pressure of trying to build off a record-breaking regular season full of career-highs wasn’t heavy enough, the Bruins decided to up the ante Wednesday night by stuffing Boston’s TD Garden full of every living Bruins legend for the Black and Gold’s Opening Night showdown with the Blackhawks.
One of many nights celebrating 100 years of Bruins hockey, it had all the makings of a potential letdown kind of night.
But powered by two strikes from 2023 Hart Trophy finalist David Pastrnak and a 20-save performance from reigning Vezina Trophy winner Linus Ullmark, the Bruins made sure they sent their legends and their fans happy by way of a 3-1 final over the Blackhawks.
“I thought the ceremony was fantastic,… Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery said following his team’s victory. “A great tribute to the 100 years of great players. I thought it was great that [for] the unfortunate ones that couldn’t be with us, that family members represented them.
“And, you know, to see Cam Neely and Ray Bourque and Johnny Bucyk and Terry O’Reilly and Bobby Orr, you know, what an ovation he got. Well-deserved. But it makes you feel special to be a Bruin. And even though it was a long process, I could feel it on the bench.…
In what was a typical early-season slow start full of bouncing pucks and near-tallies, it was the Blackhawks who struck first in this contest, and on a wraparound look by Connor Bedard.
It was the kind of breakdown that’s typical this time of year (man oh man is early-season hockey full of beautiful chaos), but one that the Bruins refused to let define their night.
Back on the attack six minutes after Bedard’s game-opening marker, Matt Poitras showed excellent patience to hang onto a puck and feed it to Brandon Carlo at the attacking blue line. Without the slightest hesitation, Carlo rifled the puck towards the Chicago net, where it was deflected by Trent Frederic for Boston’s first goal of the new season and Poitras’ first career NHL point.
“That whole first goal we scored is all [Poitras’] savvy and poise with the puck,… Montgomery said.
Knotted up through 20 minutes of action, the Bruins grabbed the lead at the 13:09 mark of the period when Milan Lucic fed a two-on-one look to David Pastrnak for a Pastrnak rip into the Chicago goal.
And in what felt like a continuation of last year’s stellar regular season, the Bruins brought their A-game to the third period, and found the dagger with Pastrnak’s empty-net strike.
Key scoring from Pastrnak and timely saves from Ullmark? Just more of the same for the Bruins, really. But it was a night that left Boston’s coach a bit flustered with his team letting the opposition hang around for too long and not bringing the intensity that he wanted to see out of the gate.
“Very average,… Montgomery said of his team’s performance in the win. “I didn't think we grew our game, but it's the first game of the year. If I think back to our first game last year, the only thing I liked about last year more than this year, is we played faster. I don't think we played fast enough, consistently enough. But you expect there's going to be things and there's a lot of things to work on. You expect that in game one. We got the result. We did a lot of good things. I thought in the third period we built our game, especially playing with a lead.…
With the win, the Bruins pushed their Opening Night win streak to five games, with their last Opening Night defeat coming all the way back in 2018.
Milan Lucic brings more than nostalgia in Bruins return
On the receiving end of one of the loudest ovations in a night full of ‘em, you could tell just how much being back in Boston — and as a Bruin, at that — meant to Milan Lucic.
It had been over eight years since Lucic last found himself in a B’s sweater and on what he considers the ‘right bench’ at TD Garden, but it’s clear that for him, it felt like being back ‘home’.
Lucic on that reception from the fans: “It’s a special time in life, those years I spent here. It’s good to have emotion and show emotion.…
— Ty Anderson (@_TyAnderson) October 12, 2023
But Lucic, who is back with the Bruins on a one-year deal worth $1 million (plus bonuses), Wednesday was about more than being a novelty act on a reunion tour. It was about making a serious impact on this game, and the 6-foot-4, 230-pound wing did exactly that.
Given the nod to the left of Johnny Beecher and Jakub Lauko, that line had a first-period effort that saw them have a 4-0 advantage in on-ice shots, and it led to a mid-game promotion for Lucic.
“He's had a really good camp and he's carrying it over. He came here in tremendous shape. And not only what you guys see on the ice, but the way he's talking on the bench,… Montgomery said of Lucic. “He's taken over a real important leadership role of talking about how to build our team game, about the important details. He was saying, ‘It’s the last two minutes of the first and gotta get pucks and get pucks out.’ It's just good reminders and it means more to teammates when it comes from a player.…
’Opening Night Pastrnak’ delivers once again
There’s just something about Opening Night that gets the blood flowing for David Pastrnak. Skating in what was his eighth career Opening Night contest, Pastrnak carried the Bruins with the game-winning goal and then the insurance marker of the empty-net goal, and finished this game with nine total shot attempts (tops among all Bruins and Blackhawks). And as he has many times, No. 88 made scoring look downright easy, with his second-period snipe on Chicago’s Arvid Soderblom looking downright effortless.
But again, perhaps this is what you should’ve expected from Opening Night Pastrnak.
With the two-goal performance, Pastrnak’s eight-game run on Opening Night now features seven goals and 13 points. I hope you hammered ‘Pastrnak anytime goal’ on whatever betting app you use.
And if you didn’t, fear not, because Boston’s top goal-scoring threat is currently signed for another seven Opening Nights in town.
Up next: The Bruins will wrap up this quick two-game homestand with a Saturday night head-to-head against Ryan O’Reilly and the Predators.
Ty Anderson is a writer and columnist for 985TheSportsHub.com. He has been covering the Bruins since 2010, and has been a member of the Boston chapter of the PHWA since 2013. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, HockeyBuzz.com or any subsidiaries. Yell at him on Twitter/X: @_TyAnderson.