Just a game after he was a healthy scratch in a 6-2 rout of the Sabres on Saturday, Pouliot returned to the Boston lineup. And not only were there no signs of rust, but he notched the game-winner in a thrilling victory over the Devils at TD Garden, emphatically stating that he's here to stay.
The tally is hands-down Pouliot's biggest contribution in Black and Gold thus far. But after the game, the humble forward spoke more about fitting in and getting ready for a tough road ahead.
"What moment?" Pouliot joked when asked if the game-winner made him feel more like part of the team.
"It's a team thing," he said. "It feels good, obviously, scoring a goal, game-winner or not, it just feels good. It helps mentally a lot. You know, you feel good after this. Right now, I feel great. We got a tough schedule coming up, and I'm just thinking about keeping that going and every game being consistent."
Pouliot had played in 10 games with the Bruins before Tuesday night's doozy against the Devils, tallying just one goal, which he scored in last Monday's 6-2 win over the Islanders. But he's maintained a positive mindset since Day 1, even when he hasn't dressed.
In fact, Pouliot saw an increased role on Tuesday night, when Brad Marchand was briefly benched in the second period for an undisciplined roughing penalty. And while such a yet to be defined role might be difficult for a player to deal with, Pouliot is pressing on, understanding that doing so will only lead to good things.
"It sucks when you're out of the lineup when you're ready to go, but at the same time, you know you learn. You learn and coaches talk to you and the guys say, 'Keep your head up, you'll be back,' and that's what happened tonight," he said.
Pouliot admitted that it's tough coming to a new team, and said that he might have taken it the wrong way at first when he was scratched by head coach Claude Julien. But Pouliot's focus remains solely on working hard on the ice and on the task at hand, which is winning hockey games.
Chris Kelly, who also scored a goal in Tuesday's win, is already impressed with the progress Pouliot has made since joining the club.
"It's not as easy as people think. It's tough, especially coming into a team that just won the Stanley Cup and most of the guys are back and there's maybe two new guys and you're trying to fit in and trying to find a niche on the team," Kelly said of his linemate's arrival. "I think he's done a great job and it's great to see him have a big goal for us tonight."
The "big goal" Kelly spoke of — Pouliot's game-winner — came with just over three minutes left in regulation. Rich Peverley won a face-off in New Jersey's zone back to the point. Joe Corvo advanced the puck along the boards before firing a shot on net, with Kelly and Pouliot out in front. After an initial stop by Devils netminder Johan Hedberg, Pouliot cleaned up the garbage and sent the Garden crowd into a frenzy.
It might be one of the loudest that Pouliot has heard the building since his arrival. But as games continue to get more and more intense as the season progresses, the atmosphere should continue to become more electric.
"When I played in Montreal, it was tough coming in here. It was always a battle and now that we're probably the biggest target in the league, you know, everyone wants to take us down, everyone wants to beat us. We've won six in a row right now, and things are going pretty well," Pouliot said.
He's right about that. And things aren't just going well for the Bruins, winners of six straight. They're suddenly going well for Pouliot as well.
