BOSTON — In overtime, at the end of his shift, Matt Poitras gave the puck to David Pastrnak. That is usually a good decision.
Moments later, after playing give-and-go with Mason Lohrei, Pastrnak slipped the deciding puck through Darcy Kuemper to give the Boston Bruins a 2-1 overtime win over the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday at TD Garden.
WINNER, WINNER PASTA FOR DINNER 🍝 pic.twitter.com/ax3l6j0vHV
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) October 12, 2024
“I was ready to change. I was pretty tired,” Poitras said. “So I just flung it cross-ice to Pasta, changed. I looked back and Pasta scored.”
It was the second of Poitras’ two overtime shifts. Neither was guaranteed.
Coach Jim Montgomery did not know what to expect from the second-year pro. Saturday was the 20-year-old’s first game of 2024-25. He missed the first two because of an undisclosed injury.
Not only that, it was Poitras’ first game since Jan. 25. Shoulder surgery wiped out the rest of his 2023-24 season.
So considering all that, Saturday was a five-star performance for the No. 3 center. In Poitras’ 11:51 of five-on-five time, the Bruins held a 16-6 advantage in attempts (72.73 percent). No player had a better Corsi For on the team than Poitras, per Natural Stat Trick.
It was only the 34th game of Poitras’ NHL career. According to Poitras’ boss, it was better than the previous 33.
“For his first game back in eight months, special,” Montgomery said. “I thought that’s the best game he’s played as an NHL player, including some two-goal games last year.”
Poitras came out of nowhere to make the team last season as a 19-year-old. He did well to score five goals and 10 assists. But by the end, with his shoulder barking and his confidence in the basement, Poitras was hurting his team more than helping it.
That does not look like it will be the case this season. He is stronger, hungrier, just as skilled and far more confident than when he exited the lineup in January.
“I think he’s going to be much better than last year,” Pastrnak said. “First of all, he has a little bit of experience from last season. He had a bad injury, which, on the other hand, gave him a lot of time to work and get stronger. For a young kid like him, summer is important. He had a good summer. So far, you can see he’s well prepared.”
Poitras started the game as the No. 3 center between Trent Frederic and Justin Brazeau. It’s a good spot for him. Elias Lindholm and Charlie Coyle can take the tougher shifts. Poitras, perhaps against bottom-six forwards and bottom pairs, can do his thing while Frederic and Brazeau clear out space — hang onto the puck, create time for his teammates, make plays that other centers cannot.
Poitras has loads of David Krejci in his game. He is not afraid of stretching out his puck possession in hopes of creating or identifying an offensive chance. The problem last year was that his injury, his inexperience and his teenage strength — or lack of it — made him a target for bigger and angrier opponents to maul.
That may not be an issue a year later. He is more of a man now, better equipped to play to his puck-possessing strength.
“He just seems like he’s even more patient this year. Which is impressive,” Brad Marchand said. “He’s shown a lot of growth. He’s only going to get better. He’s missed some time. He has young legs. But the fact he can hold onto pucks the way he does at his age is very impressive.”
As expected, Montgomery proceeded cautiously with Poitras on Saturday. He did not see special-teams ice early.
But by the third, Poitras replaced Brazeau on the No. 2 power-play unit. In overtime, after Lindholm and Pavel Zacha finished their shift, Montgomery sent Poitras out with Pastrnak as the follow-up tandem.
By then, Poitras’ legs were fading. His brain and hands were not.
“Definitely builds the confidence,” Poitras said of his season debut. “Hopefully get the conditioning back a bit better than it was tonight, play whatever minutes are given to me and just keep doing my thing.”
Forwards like Pastrnak, Marchand, Lindholm, Zacha and Coyle are fulfilled NHL players. The Bruins know what they’re going to get from the veterans.
The same cannot be said about Poitras. He is just beginning his NHL story. As such, Poitras is under construction. It’s much harder to project his season output compared to that of his more experienced peers.
But if Game 1 is a signal, it’s safe to say Poitras can make a significant advancement beyond the 15 points he totaled as a rookie. In that way, Poitras can make the biggest difference for the Bruins if he approaches his second-year threshold, whatever that may be.
Fifteen goals? Fifty points? Neither is an unreasonable target.
“Offensively, it just makes us so much more dynamic,” Montgomery answered when asked what kind of impact a next-level Poitras could make. “To have three lines that can go out there — our fourth line that can score — we have four lines that can overwhelm you. It gets you excited.”
(Photo: Winslow Townson / Getty Images)
