WILMINGTON, Mass. — Steven Kampfer has racked up plenty of firsts in his initial week of NHL action, but he almost wasn’t even on the ice for one of the best milestones Wednesday night in Buffalo.
That’s when the Bruins’ rookie defenseman got his name on the scoresheet for the first time, collecting his first NHL point with an assist on Michael Ryder‘s power-play goal.
“It was a good feeling,” said Kampfer, who was called up on Dec. 8 after Mark Stuart was sidelined with a broken hand. “Obviously, the first point is fun, but I would have liked the win a little more than the point to be honest.”
The Bruins didn’t manage to cap Kampfer’s memorable night with a victory as they fell 3-2 to the Sabres, but Kampfer did help stake Boston to a 2-1 lead at 6:21 of the third. Kampfer sent Ryder in for a pretty goal, as the forward weaved his way into the Buffalo zone, spilt two defenders and tucked the puck around Sabres goalie Ryan Miller.
“The puck came out of our zone on a power play,” said Kampfer of the play. “I noticed our guys were going for a change and so were theirs, so I was just trying to skate toward their bench and have guys second-guess if they were going to change or not and ended up having their right D second-guess. Rydes came off the bench, and I just dropped it to him, and he did the rest.
“I was actually changing when he scored, so I didn’t even see the goal,” Kampfer added. “I was just stepping on the bench, and I think Seids [Dennis Seidenberg] kind of pushed me back onto the ice for a little bit.”
Kampfer didn’t see the puck go in, but he did get to go home with it. He got the keepsake after the goal, but doesn’t plan to hold onto it for long.
“They got me the puck, so that was exciting as well,” Kampfer said. “I’ll probably give to my mom and dad and have them put it in the house.”
Kampfer will be generous with that puck, but the next milestone will be all his, as he doesn’t plan to give up the puck that ends up in the net for his first goal.
“I’ll probably hold on to that one,” Kampfer said. “But you have to earn that first one.”
