Boston Bruins: Frank Vatrano Earning His Place
The Boston Bruins came out of the Joe Louis Arena feeling very lucky. The Bruins were able to steal two points from the Detroit Red Wings on Wednesday night. The Bruins were consistently outplayed by somehow came up with the goals and saves at critical moments to take the game to overtime. Once there, Bruins rookie Frank Vatrano came up with the winning goal by tipping in a Colin Miller bomb past Petr Mrazek.
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“We have to find a way to play better,” said Bruins captain Zdeno Chara after the game. “We have to obviously correct the mistakes we are making, because the same thing that happened in the Toronto game happened again. We can’t be playing with fire like that. We’ve got to find a way to be more focused and disciplined and playing in our structure.”
“But, you know, credit to us, we didn’t give up, we worked hard. We were trying to obviously make the simple play at the end, which worked, so we take the two points.”
Frank Vatrano was the First Star of the Game, and he earned it. He put up his second and third NHL goal in the Bruins 3-2 overtime win. The 21-year old Massachusetts native played his strongest NHL game to date, and made the difference for the Black and Gold.
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“It was kind of a blur,” said Vatrano of his game winning goal. “It was an awesome feeling. I just remember the puck hit my stick and everyone coming off the bench, so it was a great play by both Beleskey and Colin Miller. Whoever [Coach] puts out there, that’s what he thinks is the best option for us to get a win. So even if it wasn’t me, if it was someone else, I’d be rooting for them, so just be ready when your number’s called.”
Vatrano was one of those emergency call-ups that has found a place among the Boston Bruins. In his seven games with the B’s, he’s put up three goals. He’s a plus-2 with 22 shots on goal. He’s become a reliable young player, and he’s certainly making up for the loss of David Pastrnak this season.
Bruins bench boss Claude Julien is certainly happy with what Vatrano has brought to the table.
“It’s nice to see your young guys step up,” said Julien. “And I said that in the dressing room before, ‘Let’s not rely on our top players to always do the job. We need the other guys to step up’ and tonight those young guys did that.”