Bruins Notes: Boston Prospect Taken Aback By ‘Surreal’ NHL Debut

The Boston Bruins made a last-minute roster tweak by recalling prospect Fabian Lysell before Saturday night’s matchup against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Lysell, 21, joined the Bruins at TD Garden after a 26-game run with the Providence Bruins, which allowed the 2021 Boston first-round draft selection to take the ice as part of interim head coach Joe Sacco’s lineup. The move came in response to the team’s 6-2 loss in Columbus on Friday night.

“I woke up this morning, didn’t think of this, and then you get a call and you’re up here so it’s just unbelievable and definitely special for me and my family for sure and everybody that’s helped me along the way,” Lysell told reporters following Boston’s 4-0 victory, as seen on NESN’s postgame coverage. “My whole family’s here. They came down for Christmas and they were actually going to go home I think tomorrow so it turned out well.”

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It didn’t take too long for Lysell to get immersed in the NHL experience. In the first period, the up-and-coming forward got involved in front of a crowded Columbus net before teammate Justin Brazeau put the Bruins ahead 1-0.

“It’s absolutely surreal,” Lysell said, per NESN. “I don’t think you can prepare for it in that sense. When it comes it’s kind of like unreal, I guess. I was just trying to take each moment from each time and enjoy it.”

Lysell logged 136 AHL appearances with Providence before getting the long-awaited call-up to Boston, totaling 34 goals and 70 assists for 104 points.

Boston netted four unanswered goals throughout the night and although Lysell wasn’t credited with any, the Bruins saw plenty from the youngster that didn’t reflect on the box score. Lysell logged a plus-1 rating in 11:32 on the ice.

“I thought he really tried tonight. I thought he made a conscious effort on his play away from the puck to be good,” Sacco told reporters, as seen on NESN’s postgame coverage. “I thought he was trying to make good reads defensively. He was on the ice for the first goal so that always feels good when it’s your first NHL game and I’m sure it’s something he’ll always remember.”

Brazeau’s goal was followed by plenty of insurance, courtesy of Morgan Geekie, David Pastrnak and Cole Koepke. Boston’s much-improved offensive effort made up for its defeat 24 hours prior and flipped the script on Columbus.

Here are more notes from Saturday night’s Bruins-Blue Jackets matchup:

— The Bruins played their final home game in 2024 on Saturday and skated away winners of their last six played at TD Garden with an improved 20-14-4 record on the season.

— Boston goaltender Jeremy Swayman recorded 19 saves to mark his second shutout of the season and 14th in his five-year career. Swayman is now 4-0-1 across his last five games with the Bruins, logging a .918 save percentage in the process.

“We owe it to these fans and ourselves,” Swayman told reporters, as seen on NESN’s postgame coverage. “And we work so hard and obviously we had some adversity but the way that we all embraced it and didn’t let the locker room get away from us, that’s something that we built on and we’re prideful of that so no matter what comes our way this is a group that’s gonna get through anything and make us better for that.”

— Geekie, responsible for extending Boston’s lead to 2-0 in the second period, notched his fourth goal in his last seven games. The 26-year-old also recorded three assists and a plus-5 rating throughout the stretch.

— Boston is now 12-5-1 under Sacco.

— The Bruins, winners of their last six at home, will next face off against the Washington Capitals on the road Tuesday. Puck drop from Capital One Arena is set for 12:30 p.m. ET and you catch the game, plus a full hour of pregame coverage, live on NESN.