BOSTON — The Bruins performed the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday with two of Boston’s finest defensemen out of the lineup.
Charlie McAvoy and Hampus Lindholm have been positioned on injured reserve and long-term injured reserve, respectively, earlier than the matchup. Of their place, the Bruins relied closely on Parker Wotherspoon and Michael Callahan, who made his NHL debut.
The pair stepped up and helped lead Boston to a 6-2 victory over Tampa Bay. Taking part in in his 76th NHL recreation, Wotherspoon scored his first profession objective and logged 21:20 of ice time throughout 27 shifts within the win.
“I’ve been ready a very long time for that second,” Wotherspoon stated. “It’s large. My mother was within the crowd tonight, too, so it makes it a bit of bit greater, and I do know she’s going to be fired up.”
Callahan could not have proven up on the scoresheet, however the 25-year-old defenseman made an affect in his 14:11 of ice time.
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“I assumed Callahan did a very good job in his first NHL recreation,” Bruins interim head coach Joe Sacco stated. “(Tampa Bay is) not a simple crew to play towards. I assumed the blokes have been able to play right here tonight.”
Regardless of not having McAvoy on the ice, Wotherspoon stated the message was the identical for the protection.
“Clearly, C-Mac is an enormous a part of our crew, so with him out, we simply needed to step up, among the different guys,” Wotherspoon stated. “That’s what’s an amazing a part of this group, it’s so deep. Callahan got here in and did a very good job, and he took out large minutes for us.”
With Mark Kastelic out for his second straight recreation after taking a nasty cross-check final week towards the Lightning, the Bruins recalled Matthew Poitras from Windfall. He made an instant affect within the recreation with the first help on Trent Frederic’s objective to open the scoring.
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“I assumed Matty performed nicely tonight,” Sacco stated. “… He clearly used his pace and his offensive capability on that first objective. He made a very nice play to Freddy.”
Listed below are extra notes from Tuesday’s Bruins-Lightning recreation:
— Cole Koepke left the sport with 10:41 remaining within the third interval after a nasty hit from Lighting defenseman Darren Raddysh. Koepke was helped off the ice by his teammates and coach. After reviewing the play, the referees decided there was no penalty on the play.
“My preliminary response was I assumed the primary level of contact was the pinnacle,” Sacco stated. “I’ll have to have a look at it once more. I don’t have an replace on it but simply so far as the place he’s at so far as his well being. I assumed the preliminary hit regarded like the primary level of contact was his head, however they clearly noticed it completely different.”
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— David Pastrnak scored his twentieth objective of the season to present the Bruins a commanding 4-0 lead within the second interval. It’s the ninth consecutive season Pastrnak has recorded 20-plus objectives. He trails solely Johnny Bucyk, Patrice Bergeron (10 every), and Brad Marchand (11) for essentially the most consecutive seasons in Bruins historical past.
Pastrnak additionally had two assists within the recreation for his thirteenth multipoint recreation of the season. He has recorded seven objectives in his final six video games.
— Andrew Peeke lit the lamp for the primary time in a Bruins sweater. The defenseman has 10 assists to go together with his lone objective in 55 video games for Boston.
— Jeremy Swayman made a season-high 43 saves within the recreation for his fifteenth win of the season.
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“Having a powerful begin helped us quite a bit, particularly in our constructing, and setting the tone with how we need to play and keep play all through all 60 minutes” Swayman stated. “That’s an enormous momentum builder for us, and I’m excited to proceed that.”
— The Bruins will look to increase their two-game profitable streak after they journey north of the border to face the Ottawa Senators on Saturday. Puck drop from Canadian Tire Centre is scheduled at 3 p.m. ET on NESN.
