Johnny Beecher’s winning goal in Wednesday’s 3-1 victory against the Florida Panthers highlighted the Boston Bruins’ fourth line with Jakub Lauko and Patrick Brown.
The Florida Panthers were ready to pounce. After Anton Lundell tied the game 1-1 at 10:33 of the second period, thanks to a couple odd bounces, Florida had an opportunity to put momentum on their side and take a lead.
Instead, just 41 seconds later, the Boston Bruins fourth line stepped up to snatch back control of the game. Jakub Lauko sent the puck up to Johnny Beecher in the neutral zone, who sprung Patrick Brown with a perfect pass to get a clear shot on net.
It went wide, but Brown corralled the puck behind the net and sent it back to Lauko, who whiffed. Beecher picked up the loose puck, patiently circling to the left side of the net to pull Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky out of position, then (inadvertently) bouncing the puck in off Oliver Ekman-Larsson to make it 2-1.
“That’s the offensive transition we want,” Bruins coach Jim Montgomery said to reporters in Florida after the game. “We want our wings to push out through the middle, and it was a great play by [Brown], getting it. And then I loved where Lauko and Beecher went, they went right to the net front, and great poise by Beecher on the goal.”
Beecher’s goal was the third of his career, but also his second in as many games. The 22-year-old center, who immediately proved himself as a quality pivot in the defensive end and in the face-off dot, is starting to show some extra offensive punch.
“I don’t know what’s going on out there,” Beecher said, speaking to the media alongside his father, Bill. “Little bit of uncharted territory, but yeah, exciting. Just trying to help the team win as much as I can, and if that means contributing on the score sheet, then that’s a bonus.”
The Lauko-Beecher-Brown line was the only one that outshot Florida at 5-on-5 on Wednesday (5-1), and that was with zero offensive zone starts. Add in contributing the winning goal, and it was a huge night for the fourth line.
That goal would be the eventual game-winner, with Jake DeBrusk scoring 3:05 later to set up the 3-1 final score.
“It’s two games in a row that [the] third and fourth line have scored,” Montgomery said. “So it’s good to see their growth offensively.”