BOSTON — Landon Ferraro saw more even-strength ice time than any of his fellow bottom-six Bruins forwards Monday night.
That’s because, during crunch time, the 24-year-old forward no longer was skating in his usual fourth-line spot.
With the Bruins trailing the Edmonton Oilers during the third period of an eventual 3-2 overtime loss, coach Claude Julien opted to bump Ferraro up to the top line, where he skated alongside stalwarts Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron in the space occupied earlier in the game by Brett Connolly.
“It just gave that line a little bit of speed there in the forecheck,” Julien said after the game. “I thought he was having a decent game, so I just went with a hunch and put him out there.”
The lineup tweak — as many have for the Bruins coach of late — paid off.
With Boston down a goal and less than five minutes remaining in regulation, Ferraro received a long pass from Zdeno Chara in the neutral zone and fed it back to Marchand, who zipped a wrist shot past Oilers goalie Cam Talbot for the game-tying goal.
“When you get moved to a line like that, it’s getting them the puck as much as you can,” said Ferraro, who also added three shots on goal and five hits in 13:40 of ice time. “You get Marchy in a spot like that, you’re going to give him the puck and let him shoot it.”
Feeding Marchand was a wise choice all night. He finished with a career-high nine shots on net as the Bruins as a team landed a season-high 49 on Talbot.
“You want him to have the puck,” Ferraro said. “He’s been hot, especially as of late, and he’s proven that he can score in this league, so you definitely want him taking that shot.”
Ferraro doesn’t possess quite the goal-scoring potential as Marchand and Bergeron, but he has been a surprisingly consistent offensive contributor since joining the Bruins as a waiver-wire pickup last month. The assist was his third since coming over from the Detroit Red Wings, and he’s also added three goals, including a game-winner last Wednesday in Montreal.
“He has been playing really well,” Marchand said. “I think he has some good offensive talent, and he works extremely hard, and he’s really good at getting in on the forecheck and turning pucks over. And he can make plays. You saw that he made a really nice pass there, and he’s scored a couple nice goals. He’s a really good player.”
Ferraro’s Monday night did not end on the highest of notes. He was on the ice to begin the 3-on-3 overtime period, and his defensive miscue helped free Andrej Sekera for the game-winning goal.
Regardless, it’s clear the versatile young forward is continuing to make a name for himself just 10 games into his Bruins tenure.
“When I got here, (I) just decided I’ve got to play,” he said. “I was so nervous at the beginning of the year in Detroit. I was in and out of the lineup, and (if you made) one little mistake, you didn’t know if you were going to be back in or play the rest of the game. So, when you come here, you’ve just got to give yourself a chance and just play.”
A few additional notes from Monday’s action:
— Oilers general manager Peter Chiarelli, who until this past summer held that same position with the Bruins, was back in town for the game. He expressed his affection for the city of Boston during Sunday’s Oilers practice at Boston University’s Agganis Arena.
“This is a great city,” Chiarelli said, via the Boston Herald. “Half of my family is still here, so it was good to see them last night. It’s a great hockey town, and this is a tremendous college venue. I spent nine years here. Obviously, it (was) a good part of my life. It’s nice to come back.”
— The WWE invaded TD Garden on Sunday for a “Tables, Ladders and Chairs” match, and a couple of Bruins players — Matt Beleskey and Jimmy Hayes, to be exact — turned out for the event.
Thumbnail photo via Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports Images
