By: Ryan Jainchill | Follow me on Twitter / X @Jainchill_Ryan
Four Boston Bruins defensemen recorded milestones in the team’s 6-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning Tuesday night. Parker Wotherspoon and Andrew Peeke netted their first goals in a Bruins uniform, with Wotherspoon’s being the first of his NHL career. Brandon Carlo skated in his 600th career NHL game, and Massachusetts native Michael Callahan made his NHL debut. On a night when the Bruins were shorthanded on the back end due to injuries, the contributions from those lower in the lineup and those filling in for the injured players benefited the team and allowed them to keep pace with Eastern Conference foes.
After 75 games across three seasons with the Bruins and the New York Islanders, Wotherspoon received a pass from David Pastrnak and ripped one short side over netminder Andrei Vasilevskiy’s shoulder for his first goal in the National Hockey League. According to Ty Anderson of 98.5 The SportsHub, Wotherspoon entered the night as one of eight players in Bruins’ history to play at least 50 games for the franchise without a goal. Wotherspoon is the first Bruin to record his first NHL goal this season.
Peeke’s first was an empty netter that sealed the victory for the Bruins. After being acquired from the Columbus Blue Jackets at the 2024 NHL Trade Deadline, the Parkland, Florida native appeared in 54 games for the Bruins before recording his first goal. Peeke, like Wotherspoon, was one of the eight names on the list with 50 or more games played in a Bruins uniform without a goal. With the Bruins finding themselves in a six-on-four disadvantage due to a penalty and Tampa Bay pulling Vasilevskiy for the extra attacker, Elias Lindholm won the faceoff right to Peeke, who fired the puck the length of the ice and into the empty net. This put the Bruins ahead 5-2 and sent the game out of reach for the Lightning.
In his ninth season, Carlo suited up for his 600th National Hockey League game against the Lightning, all coming while wearing the spoked-B. In his nine years in Boston, the Colorado Springs, Colorado native has scored 29 goals and 76 assists in 600 games while being a +127. This season, the 28-year-old has one goal and four assists in 45 games while playing second-pair minutes. In the victory on Tuesday, Carlo had a relatively quiet night, recording 19:25 of ice time on 27 shifts and not factoring into any scoring.
Due to a pair of roster moves affecting defensemen Charlie McAvoy and Hampus Lindholm, General Manager Don Sweeney recalled Callahan from the Providence Bruins. The Franklin, Massachusetts, native spent his first four professional seasons playing in Providence, recording 33 points in 175 games. This season, the 25-year-old was named to the 2025 AHL All-Star game for his play. In his NHL debut, the former Providence College Friar spent 14:11 minutes on the ice, recording a plus-one on 22 shifts. Callahan’s play was not flashy, but his intelligence with the puck and excellent positioning were evident in the victory.
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