If it wasn’t clear before, the Boston Bruins appear to be pretty good.
Boston completed an improbable comeback in the third period and overtime, scoring four-unanswered goals to steal a victory from the clutches of the Pittsburgh Penguins, 6-5.
While the effort was one the entire team can say they had a hand in, with 13 different skaters recording a point and both goalies playing significant minutes, the night truly belonged to Hampus Lindholm — who was the best player on the ice.
As he has all year in the absence of Charlie McAvoy, Lindholm served as the Bruins’ top defenseman and piled up time on the ice. In just under thirty minutes, the 28-year-old recorded four points, assisting on each of Boston’s final-three regulation goals and potting the game-winner to complete the comeback.
Now just imagine what the Bruins will look like with both Lindholm and McAvoy on the ice together.
Here are more notes from Tuesday’s Bruins-Penguins game:
— Bruins rookie Jakub Lauko netted his first-career NHL goal on a first-period snipe. He spoke about what went through his head on the goal and how his linemate Nick Foligno has impacted his young career.
“I looked at the ref to make sure it was good because I scored in my second game and it was disallowed,” Lauko told ESPN’s Emily Kaplan, per the network’s broadcast. “I call (Foligno) Uncle Nick, so we have a good relationship. He made a nice play before the goal so like 80% of it goes to him.”
— Bruins defenseman Derek Forbort left the game with an upper-body injury in the first period, seeing just over five minutes of ice time. Lindholm stepped up big in his absence, spending just under 30 minutes on the ice and combining for four of the Bruins’ six points.
— The second period was disastrous for Boston, as Pittsburgh scored three goals in 1:54 to chase Linus Ullmark from the game. The veteran goalie would eventually need to return, relieving Jeremy Swayman, who suffered an injury in the third period. Nick Foligno stepped in for Swayman for the celebratory goalie hug.
— The Bruins will continue their four-game road trip Thursday, traveling to New York to face the Rangers at Madison Square Garden. Puck drop for that game is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET, and will exclusively air on ESPN+. Boston returns to NESN on Saturday when it takes on the Toronto Maple Leafs at 7 p.m. ET.
