By: Eamonn McLean | Follow me on Twitter/X @EamonnMcLean44
After losing to the Florida Panthers on opening night, the Boston Bruins responded with a 6-4 victory over the Montreal Canadiens at TD Garden. The Bruins got two goals from Mark Kastelic and goals from David Pastrnak, Elias Lindholm, Charlie McAvoy, and Cole Koepke. Jeremy Swayman picked up the win for the B’s in his season debut, making 20 saves.
Mark Kastelic shines
With the Canadiens holding a 2-1 lead halfway through the opening frame, Mark Kastelic tied the game with his first goal as a Bruin, and it was a beauty. After a give-and-go with Nikita Zadorov, Kastelic received a pass along the boards and cut to the middle of the ice before wiring a shot bar down over Canadiens Goaltender Cayden Primeau’s left shoulder.
Later, after Brendan Gallagher gave the Canadiens life late in the third period, Kastelic quickly took it away from them. Kastelic won a foot race on a dump-in and had a pass intended for linemate Johnny Beecher deflect off of Canadiens defenseman Justin Barron into the net, giving the Bruins a 6-4 advantage. The Phoenix, Arizona native also won 83.3% of his faceoffs and recorded three hits and blocked three shots.
Swayman Returns
Jeremy Swayman was victorious in his season debut. Many wondered how the Alaska native would look at the beginning of the season, having missed all seven of the Bruins preseason games. Swayman silenced many of those concerns with a steady performance between the pipes.
As expected when two bitter rivals clash, this game featured many scrums during play and after the whistle. Late in the second period, Swayman cleared the net front himself, forcing Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki out of the way. His rebound control was solid, and he quickly challenged shooters and cut off the angles—an encouraging start to the season for Swayman.
Elias Lindholm gets his first as a Bruin
The game’s first star, Elias Lindholm, registered three points in the win, including his first goal as a Bruin. Lindholm redirected a pass in the high slot from Zadorov to give the Bruins a 3-2 lead in the first period.
Lindholm added assists on Pastrnak and McAvoy’s goals and made some smart plays with the puck, especially on the power play. Playing in the bumper role, the Boden, Sweden, native made several difficult one-touch passes look easy and was instrumental in the B’s success both at even strength and on the man advantage.
Zadorov picks up 100th career assist
Nikita Zadorov registered his 100th career assist on Kastelic’s first-period goal before adding assist #101 on Lindholm’s redirection tally. The Moscow native also threw two hits, including one on Canadiens forward Kirby Dach that brought the Garden crowd to life.
The Bruins will be back in action Saturday afternoon when they take on the Los Angeles Kings at 1:00 P.M. ET at TD Garden. On Monday, they’ll wrap up the ongoing three-game homestand with a rematch against the Florida Panthers. A link to the Bruins’ full schedule can be found here.
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