Now that was better.
The Montreal Canadiens may have represented a sizable drop-down in quality of opponent for the Bruins at the Garden on Thursday, but the B’s game looked a lot more like what the brass envisioned when it assembled this team in the offseason in a 6-4 victory in the home opener. It was not perfection – far from it – but it was a step in the right direction, especially offensively.
Looking to erase the taste of a very bad loss to Florida Panthers in the season opener, the B’s got contributions up and down the lineup and gave Jeremy Swayman ample run support in his first game of the season to notch their first win of the season. They got three fourth-line goals, two from Mark Kastelic. The B’s pounded the Montreal defensemen in the offensive zone, they won battles all over the ice and played faster than on Tuesday. It all paid dividends.
“I think we can see what kind of team we can be,” said coach Jim Montgomery. “We’ve got to become a better checking team and understand game management a little better. I didn’t think game management was exemplary in the third. But it’s hard to win in this league. We’ve got our first win and we’ll just keep building.”
Two late Montreal goals in the third period that briefly cut a three-goal lead to one created more consternation than there needed to be. After the B’s had dominated much of the first two periods, the Habs outshot them 14-6 in the third, which made it challenging for Swayman, who’d seen just 11 shots in the first two periods. But Kastelic’s second of game salted it away just 17 seconds after Brendan Gallagher’s second of the game cut the B’s lead to 5-4.
“I’m not satisfied,” said Swayman, who signed his eight-year, $66 million deal last Sunday. “The guys in front of me did an incredible job. I have a lot of work to do and I’m excited to get to work.”
It was a contentious contract squabble, but Swayman – the first player introduced by virtue of his number – was received warmly by the Garden fans.
“It was a pretty emotional, that warm welcome,” said Swayman. “It just goes to show what kind of fan base we have here, knowing it’s more than just a player, it’s a human being that they care about. It got pretty emotional finally stepping on that ice and hearing that roar again. Just an incredible amount of gratitude. I’m so grateful to be a part of this city, part of this team, and it’s moments like that that make everything worth it.”
The B’s took a 3-2 lead into the first intermission after an entertaining opening 20 minutes.
Not that it would have been difficult, but the B’s started much better than they did in Florida. They earned the first power play on the first shift and it appeared Hampus Lindholm gave them them the lead on a long shot but Montreal coach Martin St. Louis challenged that Justin Brazeau interfered with goalie Cayden Primeau. The challenge was upheld and the goal came off the board.
It was the Habs who took the first lead of the game on their own power play. Just seconds after Brad Marchand leveled Alex Newhook, Gallagher tipped home a Joel Armia pass at 8:26.
But the B’s answer quickly answered with their own PP goal. Charlie McAvoy, more shot-happy than usual (he fired six pucks in the first), beat Primeau with a long-distance wrister.
In the middle of that goal announcement, however, the Habs regained the lead as Kaiden Guhle sifted a diagonal pass from the right point to a too-open Cole Caufield, who had enough time to miss the puck at first before pulling it off the side of the net and tucking into the open net behind Swayman.
But the B’s owned the rest of the period. They would hold a 13-6 shot advantage and take the lead into dressing room on goals from two new Bruins. First, on an excellent, grinding fourth line shift that was imagined in the summer, Kastelic came off the boards and beat Primeau with a high wrister at 13:24.
Then two more new Bruins combined to give the B’s their first lead of the season when Elias Lindholm (1-2–3) redirected a Nikita Zadorov (two assists) pass through Primeau from the high slot at 18:23.
The B’s didn’t give up much to the Habs early in the second – Montreal went 15:33 without a shot, starting with 7:01 left in the first – but it felt like they were letting the Canadiens hang around. That was until the B’s popped in a pair of goals in 55 seconds late in the second.
The first one came at 15:56 on a nice play by the first line. David Pastrnak dumped the puck in and Elias Lindholm and Pavel Zacha converged on Arber Xhekaj to regain the puck. Zacha took it behind the net, then reversed course to leave David Savard in the dust before delivering a pass for a Pastrnak one-timer shot from slot for a 4-2 lead.
Then the B’s got another fourth line goal. Johnny Beecher used his great burst to get to the net and tried to squeeze it home on the short side. Primeau made the initial stop but couldn’t control the rebound. Cole Koepke followed up the play and jammed it through his Primeau’s pads for a 5-2 lead going into the third.
But the Habs did not give up. Josh Anderson scored on a deflection of a Guhle shot at 9:05 in the third period and, with 4:17 left in regulation, Gallagher scored his second of the game when he was all alone from the bottom of the circle.
But 17 seconds later, Kastelic scored his second of the game when he banked the puck off Primeau. Not a bad Garden debut for the former Senator.
“It just feels good to contribute to the team success and getting on the scoresheet is always a good feeling and it was really fun playing with my liney’s tonight,” said Kastelic. “I think we’re starting to build our games together and get more comfortable with each and it’s starting to pay off.”
Now that the B’s created offense the way hoped they would, the next step is to defend the way everyone expects they can. Then they might have something.
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