What a goal from No. 19!
The Boston Bruins picked up a hard-fought 3-2 shootout win over the Washington Capitals last night. It was an immensely impressive win, as the Bruins successfully killed off Hampus Lindholm's four-minute high-sticking penalty in overtime against Alex Ovechkin and the Caps' red-hot offense.
While the Bruins' remarkable penalty-killing effort is and should be the main takeaway from this matchup, rookie Johnny Beecher deserves a big-time shoutout. The 2019 first-round pick scored a beautiful breakaway goal, showing great poise with the puck and beating Charlie Lindgren with a perfectly placed backhand.
What made Beecher's goal even sweeter was that he earned it through his hard work in the defensive zone. The 22-year-old broke up a Dylan Strome and beat him in a foot race for the puck, which led to the breakaway and, of course, his outstanding goal.
Following the game, Beecher told reporters about his goal: "I was just trying to hold the dot line there in the D-zone. Just part of our process. They tried to slip it through, it hit my foot, just able to get a step on him....was able to slip it through so happy about it."
Beecher now has seven goals and 10 points in 46 games with the Bruins this season.