For two Bruins’ rookies, Monday was a big night.
Mason Lohrei and Johnny Beecher each scored their first NHL goals minutes apart in Boston’s 3-2 win over the Dallas Stars at American Airlines Center. While Beecher has been with the team since the start of the season, Lohrei was part of the final training camp cuts. He was recalled in wake of Matt Grzelcyk’s injury that landed the defenseman on long-term injured reserve and Charlie McAvoy’s four-game suspension.
Beecher has been taking on a bigger role after Milan Lucic landed on LTIR and Jakub Lauko was placed on IR, and it was on full display Monday. His first-career goal was an absolute snipe and he continued to do all the little things right for the Bruins.
“I think it’s just about as happy as you could ever be,” Beecher told reporters. “Not only to get the first one but to score a big goal in an away game to help your team win. My line played fantastic and helped me get a couple of opportunities. So it was good.”
Lohrei is trying to become a mainstay in the Bruins’ lineup after beginning the season in Providence. It wasn’t an easy decision to send him to the AHL, and the 22-year-old is attempting to make it even harder when it comes time for the Bruins to make a decision about him again.
His first NHL goal was a nice shot without hesitation from the slot through traffic to make it 2-0.
“Pretty cool to watch that one go in. (Danton Heinen) made a great play, (Oskar Steen) screening in front. Made it easy on me, just had to hit the net,” Lohrei said. “… You work your whole life to be here and you always dream about scoring your first goal. So, pretty cool to check that one off the list.”
With the Bruins down a slew of players on defense and offense, Lohrei and Beecher have provided the team some depth early on in the season – something Brad Marchand said is “great to have.”
“They’re continuing to establish themselves and building a foundation of their game and their careers. It’s always exciting to see where they start and where they’ll get to,” he told reporters. “The potential on both of those guys is through the roof. It’s great they’re continuing to get better.”
It’s unclear what the future holds for Lohrei. McAvoy will return from his four-game suspension Saturday at the earliest. Grzelcyk will miss at least 10 games and 24 days, and Derek Forbort is day-to-day. At some point, the Bruins will need to decide if they want to continue to develop Lohrei in the AHL or if he’s done enough to stick around.
Until then, Coach Jim Montgomery is just enjoying what the rookies are bringing to the table when presented with the opportunity.
“Two goals from rookies and the fourth line. It was really important. We really wanted to jump on them early, and we were able to do that,” he told reporters. “Then they got a big push last seven minutes of the first and the second. I thought in the last five minutes of the second and the third, we played well with a lead.”
The Bruins return home Thursday night against the New York Islanders. It’s unknown what the lineup will look like on defense.
TUESDAY’S GAMES
LIGHTNING 5, CANADIENS 3: A red-hot Nikita Kucherov had a goal and an assist as visiting Tampa Bay defeated Montreal.
Matt Tomkins made 22 saves in his third career start to earn his first NHL win.
Nicholas Paul scored twice, and Alex Barre-Boulet and Michael Eyssimont also had goals for Tampa Bay.
Captain Nick Suzuki, Christian Dvorak and Michael Pezzetta scored for Montreal.
HURRICANES 3, SABRES 2: Martin Necas scored his second overtime winner of the season, converting 90 seconds into the extra session as Carolina won at home.
RANGERS 5, RED WINGS 3: Vincent Trocheck scored twice, Chris Kreider and Artemi Panarin had a goal and an assist each and New York won at home.
Defenseman Erik Gustafsson had two assists and Jonathan Quick made 25 saves for the Rangers.
The Rangers swarmed the Red Wings through the first two periods as New York returned home after their six-game winning streak was snapped Saturday in Minnesota. The Rangers led 5-0 after two periods before Detroit scored three times in the third.
Michael Rasmussen ruined Quick’s shutout bid at 7:55. Klim Kostin scored his first goal as a Red Wing 20 seconds later. Former Ranger Andrew Copp then scored his fifth at 13:49 to narrow the deficit to 5-3.
WILD 4, ISLANDERS 2: Kirill Kaprizov and Joel Eriksson Ek scored on consecutive shots in the third period as visiting Minnesota topped New York.
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