Going into Thursday night’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Boston Bruins were facing their third consecutive Atlantic Division team, and second Original Six rival.
This one took all three periods, overtime, and a two-round shootout for this one to be decided. Ultimately, it was the Bruins who came out on top in a 3-2 shootout victory. The victory increased Boston’s win total to nine on the year and gave them at least one point in each of their first ten games this season.
With the win, there are multiple things to mull over, but here are the ultimate takeaways.
Takeaway #1 – Mason Lohrei’s hard work paid off
Before the game, defenseman Mason Lohrei was called up from the Providence Bruins and he immediately made his presence known, picking up his first NHL point on the game’s first goal by Pavel Zacha.
Lohrei was tied for the second most shifts of anyone in the game last night with 30. In fact, he had more than any forward in the game, and the only people who had more than him or equal to him were Kevin Shattenkirk, who also had 30, and Hampus Lindholm, who had 35.
Lohrei also became the first player born in Louisiana to play in an NHL game when he took the ice last night.
Jim Montgomery on Mason Lohrei in his NHL debut Thursday night: "He was dynamite...he played really well. His poise with the puck in all three zones was very noticeable and he made a lot of intelligent hockey plays." pic.twitter.com/2FArHl6FVT
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) November 3, 2023
Takeaway #2 – Jake DeBrusk (FINALLY) gets on the board
Going into this season, Jake DeBrusk was poised to have a breakout year this season. Unfortunately, for DeBrusk, it hasn’t started that way.
Through the first eight games, the Alberta native, had only tallied three assists to his name. However, DeBrusk came up clutch for the Bruins on Thursday night, scoring the games’ second goal as well as the opening goal for the home squad in the shootout.
STARTED THE SECOND WITH SOME SEVEN FOUR. pic.twitter.com/6oRgcanwpo
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) November 3, 2023
DeBrusk gave them a two-goal lead at the time, which ultimately collapsed into a 2-2 tie before going to overtime, but without his goal Boston never would have made it to overtime in the first place.
Takeaway #3 – Jeremy Swayman is (still) hot
I’m running out of words to describe Jeremy Swayman at this point, that’s just how good he’s been this season. Just Thursday night alone, he had 33 saves in one game.
With the win last night, he moves to 5-0 on the season and into third place in NHL with a 1.38 GAA. He’s also third in the league in SV% at .954. And to think this is his third full season with stats in the NHL.
His stats are right up there with some of the great goaltenders of this age like Jonathan Quick, and Semyon Varlamov. He’s off to a torrid start this year, and is showing no signs of slowing down.
What’s next for the Bruins?
The Bruins next game is on Saturday night, when they take on the Detroit Red Wings for the second time in the last week. This time they will be on the road at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit. Puck drop on ESPN+ and NESN, is at 7:00 p.m.