Over the past two games, the Boston Bruins have got some key minutes and performances from some of their rookies in their two wins. It has been no secret that the Bruins have been hit hard with injuries up and down their roster this season, while they have also had to start dealing with COVID-19 issues that have put some players into the league’s protocols.
Tuesday night against the Pittsburgh Penguins, with Tuukka Rask sidelined with an undisclosed injury and Jaroslav Halak needing a break to avoid playing back-to-back games, rookie goalie Dan Vladar stepped in between the pipes and delivered a much-needed win for Boston in his first career start.
Stopping 34 of the 35 shots on the net by the Penguins, Vladar backboned a 2-1 victory that split the two games in the Steel City with the Pens. Also that night, forward Oskar Steen made his NHL debut and was in the lineup again Thursday night against the Buffalo Sabres.
Steen had 13:30 time-on-ice against Buffalo and finished with three shots on net. He played on the third line with Charlie Coyle and Nick Ritchie. He was noticeable all night and so far, through two games, looks like he belongs.
Ahcan makes his NHL debut on the blue line for the Bruins against Buffalo.
Another Bruins rookie made an NHL debut this week. Thursday night against the Sabres, Boston was down Jarred Tinordi on defense and coach Bruce Cassidy inserted Jack Ahcan and paired him with Steven Kampfer on the third pairing.
In just under 18 minutes, Ahcan had three shots on the net, one hit, and gave up his body with a pair of blocks. He had 1:02 of time on the power play and even spent 23 seconds on the penalty kill on the one Sabres power play. Yes, he did lose his footing a couple of times at key moments, but like Steen, he didn’t look out of place.
At the beginning of the season, the Bruins knew that they were going to need key minutes and performances from some rookies, but they have had to go deeper into their prospect pool than they may have wanted. So far, the returns have been good.