When the trade deadline came and went at 3 p.m. EST on March 6, it appeared that Boston Bruins general manager Don Sweeney had only made one minor deal. Then word slowly broke that a deadline deal was struck between the Bruins and Vancouver Canucks for Lukas Reichel.
A former first-round pick, Reichel has struggled to stick in the NHL. Sweeney and head coach Marco Sturm are hoping to strike a little gold with Reichel, and all it took was a late-round pick. After playing a couple of games with the Providence Bruins in the American Hockey League (AHL), Reichel made his Boston debut on Thursday night against the Winnipeg Jets.
He made an immediate impact, scoring a goal and picking up an assist in the 6-1 victory. His goal in the second period gave the Black and Gold a 2-0 lead. He played on the third line with Morgan Geekie and Elias Lindholm.
“It’s awesome. I think the crowd is always amazing,” Reichel said. “Even when I played here against the Bruins, it feels even better when you play for them.”
He'll likely stay in the lineup on Saturday night against the Detroit Red Wings on the road, but is this going to be something that will be consistent or a one-game surprise? We'll see.
NHL Draft Lottery date set
Last year, Bruins fans were tuned into the NHL Draft Lottery in May because the Black and Gold missed the playoffs. They ended up falling to the seventh-seed, the furthest spot they could have fallen. They ended up with big luck on draft night with James Hagens falling to them at No. 7.
Once again, Bruins fans will want to circle May 5 on their calendar as that will be the night the NHL will hold the Draft Lottery this season, according to Frank Seravalli. A big reason why fans will be tuning in is to see what the Toronto Maple Leafs pick falls. Boston owns it as long as it falls outside the top 5 as part of the trade deadline deal last March that sent Brandon Carlo to Toronto. Boston would end up with two lottery picks if they end up finishing on the outside looking in this year's playoff race in the Eastern Conference. It wouldn't be the worst thing in the world if that happened.
Bruins head to the Motor City
The Bruins will play their biggest road game of the season to date on Saturday night when they visit the Detroit Red Wings. The teams are tied for the last Eastern Conference wild-card spots, and points are valuable.