Brandon Carlo has never been known for his offensive capabilities, but 2022 has been an especially slow year for the Bruins defenseman.
After skating in 26 games without a goal to open up the season, it appears Carlo may flipped the switch Monday night, however. He potted his first goal of the season in Boston’s blowout win over the Florida Panthers at TD Garden, sniping a trailing shot past goaltender Spencer Knight.
By adding an assist in the seven-goal Bruins effort, Carlo registered his first two-point performance since May 1 against the Anaheim Ducks. It was a game that provided a sense of relief for the right-shot defenseman.
“It’s something that I haven’t tried to focus on too much, of not having a goal yet throughout this year,” Carlo said postgame. “I’m just focused on getting my opportunities each game and knew it would come soon, luckily it did tonight.
“I feel like there’s been a lot of opportunities in the offensive zone for all of us defensemen. It’s a matter of putting it in the back of the net. I think with our transition game you’ve seen some very good spurts.”
The 26-year-old was right, Monday was a game that saw not only Carlo get on the board, but fellow d-men Connor Clifton and Hampus Lindholm each finished with two points as well. It was a welcomed offensive show from Boston’s defensemen, who have been good but not great offensively throughout the Bruins’ historic run to start the season. The tick up even got a shoutout from B’s coach Jim Montgomery.
“I think (Carlo’s) been jumping into the right holes often defensively — coming out of d-zone, neutral zone and the offensive zone especially,” Montgomery said. “He’s had a lot of opportunities and it was great to see him get rewarded.”
