When Sean Kuraly signed with the Boston Bruins this summer in free agency, he was returning to a place that he cherished playing early in his career. After a stop with the Columbus Blue Jackets, the fourth-line center returned to Boston and was happy to be back.
What he wasn't happy about was his lack of goal scoring early in the season, especially during the Black and Gold's six-game losing streak. In Thursday night's 3-2 overtime win over the Ottawa Senators, Kuraly found the back of the net in what turned out to be a big goal.
Late in the second period of a 1-1 game, Tanner Jeannot found Kuraly alone in a prime scoring area, and he was able to roof a wrist shot by Linus Ullmark for a 2-1 lead. After he scored, Kuraly let out some frustration and excitement by jumping into the glass behind the net to celebrate his goal, a tradition of his during his first tenure in Boston.
“I figured, after that one went in, it was overdue,” Kuraly said. “It actually wasn’t rehearsed. But the second it went in, I knew what I had to do.”
The Bruins hope there are more of those celebrations in order this season.
Michael DiPietro shines in P-Bruins win
The Providence Bruins took their 8-1-0 record on the road Friday night to Cleveland to play the Monsters, and they came away with their ninth victory of the season, thanks to netminder Michael DiPietro. He made 42 saves on 43 Monsters' shots and made goals from Dans Locmelis and John Farinacci be the difference in a 2-1 victory. They will play again on Saturday afternoon at 1 o'clock.
Brandon Bussi dilemma in Carolina
Remember former Bruins prospect goalie Brandon Bussi? When Don Sweeney brought back DiPietro over the summer, Bussi signed with the Florida Panthers. He was placed on waivers by the defending Stanley Cup champs, and he was claimed by the Carolina Hurricanes.
The former Western Michigan standout had played in four games this season for the Hurricanes and is 3-1-0 with a 2.25 goals against average and a .916 save percentage. Carolina has three goalies on the roster and is faced with a dilemma if they choose to send Bussi or Pyotr Kochetkov to the American Hockey League (AHL). Both would require waivers to get through and will need to make a tough decision when all is said and done. You would think that Bussi's start to the season would draw some teams' attention if he were placed on waivers for the purpose of assignment in the AHL.