Matt Poitras and Johnny Beecher made their NHL debuts in the victory.
BOSTON – The Boston Bruins opened the 2023-24 season at TD Garden against the Chicago Blackhawks where they won 3-1.
Matt Poitras and Johnny Beecher made their NHL debuts following a pregame “Rafter Reunion” ceremony that honored past Bruins greats – including Bobby Orr, Ray Bourque and Patrice Bergeron – as part of the Centennial season celebrations.
Connor Bedard opened up scoring with his first NHL goal at 14:23 in the first period, wrapping the puck behind the net and sneaking it past Linus Ullmark’s right pad for the 1-0 advantage.
Trent Frederic claimed the Bruins’ first goal of the season with a tip-in off Brandon Carlo’s shot from just below the point at 11:22 to tie it 1-1.
Poitras logged the secondary assist on the goal for his first NHL point, and looked sharp throughout the opening frame. The 19-year-old grinded in the corners, made heads-up plays in the O-zone and carried his same quiet confidence despite the regular season stage.
The Bruins pulled ahead at 13:09 in the second period with a David Pastrnak left-side snapshot dished to him on the rush by Milan Lucic. While Lucic was skating on the fourth line with Johnny Beecher and Jakub Lauko, a weird shift got him caught with Pastrnak ahead of the 2-on-1 tally.
Lucic – who got “Loooooch” chants every time he touched the puck – notably inserted himself into the B’s up-ice game and showed more offensive flair than some may have expected from his dubbed “enforcer” role this season.
Pastrnak sealed the win with his second goal of the game, an empty-netter, with 55 seconds remaining in the third period for a final 3-1 score. Ullmark backed the team with 20 saves.