With Bobby Orr and Phil Esposito and other hockey greats in the building to celebrate the start of the Bruins’ 100th season, Blackhawks phenom Connor Bedard took another early step toward joining them on Wednesday when he scored his first career NHL goal.
“It’s a big relief,” said Bedard, who posed with the puck in the locker room after the 3-1 loss to Boston. “You want to get one really bad, quick, and kind of get that out of the way, but it was [a] really cool moment and cool building to do it in.”
David Pastrnak scored to break a second-period tie and added an empty-netter for Boston, who won their season-opener a year after setting NHL records for wins and points, but then losing in the first round of the playoffs.
Photo: AFP
The Bruins victory spoiled the milestone for Bedard, the league’s most anticipated rookie in nearly a decade. The No. 1 overall draft pick also registered his first penalty and gave the Blackhawks a scare when he crashed into the boards skates-first late in the third period.
He remained in the game and pronounced himself “great” afterward.
“I think he was more gassed, and tired and disappointed that he missed,” Blackhawks coach Luke Richardson said. “He’s fine. He just missed a chance there. When he was going in there, I thought the game was going to be tied.”
Trent Frederic also scored for Boston and Vezina Trophy-winner Linus Ullmark made 20 saves. Matthew Poitras, the Bruins’ top rookie, assisted on Frederic’s goal for his first career NHL point.
Arvid Soderblom stopped 32 shots for the Blackhawks, who beat Pittsburgh in their opener on Tuesday, when Bedard had an assist for his first NHL point. He topped that in Boston when he scored on a wraparound that beat Ullmark and made it 1-0.
“I remember, like, being behind the net and kind of seeing it, and I was just like: ‘Don’t screw this up,’” Bedard said. “And then once it went in, just a lot of joy, for sure.”
Frederic tied it midway through the first period and Pastrnak beat Soderblom to give Boston the lead on a feed from Milan Lucic. Pastrnak made it 3-1 with just under a minute left when Soderblom was pulled for an extra skater.
Elsewhere, the Canucks crushed the Oilers 8-1, the Maple Leafs pipped the Canadiens 6-5 in a shoot-out, the Hurricanes saw off the Senators 5-3, the Avalanche overcame the Kings 5-2 and the Flames downed the Jets 5-3.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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