Bruins
Beecher opened up the Bruins’ scoring in his first shift of playoff hockey.
Johnny Beecher’s positive presence in the Bruins’ bottom six was a welcome surprise in the second half of the season.
Boston’s forward depth looked lacking on paper heading into the year, and could have looked even grimmer once budding rookie Matt Poitras was sent to long-term injured reserve and eventually shut down for the season.
As part of the lineup shuffle surrounding Poitras’s injury, Beecher found a more permanent role in the NHL. He wound up playing 52 regular season games in Boston and recorded 10 points.
Now, Beecher’s efforts through the regular season are paying dividends in the race for the Stanley Cup.
The 23-year-old got the scoring going early for Boston, in not just his first playoff game, but his first shift of the postseason.
It came by way of odd-man-rush, as Pat Maroon won a battle along the boards and popped the puck out to Jesper Boqvist to spring the break. Boqvist patiently waited with the puck on his stick before dishing it off to Beecher for the early lamp-lighter.
“[Maroon] got it started, he did a great job down low,” Beecher said. “We caught them cheating a little bit and [Boqvist] made a great play, slipping it through their D. I was just trying to get it on net, so happy it went in.”
Bruins fans packed the TD Garden all season long, but Beecher enjoyed his first taste of playoff hockey on his home ice. It helped that Boston won in dominant fashion, 5-1, giving the crowd plenty to cheer for.
“It was unbelievable. The fans are incredible out there and it was one of the coolest things I’ve ever been a part of,” Beecher said. “Unreal to get a win in the first one. Keep building on it, go from there.”
The Bruins stuck to their script well in Game 1 and have a chance to go up 2-0 against Toronto on Monday.
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