How Jim Montgomery Evaluated Pat Maroon’s Bruins Debut

Saturday proved to be a great night at the office for the Bruins.

Boston managed to fend off a desperate Penguins team in Pittsburgh, where Sidney Crosby and company are fighting for one of the last playoff spots in the Eastern Conference. And in addition to earning a 6-4 win and staying in contention for the East’s top seed, the B’s were able to get one of their newest players on the ice.

Pat Maroon made his Boston debut a little over a month after he was acquired from the Minnesota Wild in a pre-deadline trade. The veteran bruiser logged 13:16 of time on ice, dished out four hits and recorded a shot on net.

After the tilt at PPG Paints Arena, head coach Jim Montgomery assessed Maroon’s first game with the Black and Gold.

“I thought he was very effective for us,” Montgomery told reporters, per The Athletic. “Managed the game really well. You can see why he’s won a lot. Because of the way he manages the game. Changes at the right time. Putting pucks to good areas. I thought him, Boqvist and Lauko together were good.”

Maroon will have two more opportunities to tune himself up before the Bruins’ Stanley Cup playoff run commences. Boston will visit the Washington Capitals on Monday before wrapping up its regular season Tuesday at TD Garden against the Ottawa Senators.