BOSTON — Justin Brazeau did his best to remember what many would assume is an unforgettable moment.
“I kind of blacked out, honestly,” the Boston Bruins forward said when asked about scoring his first NHL goal in his first career game, a 4-3 shootout victory against the Dallas Stars at TD Garden on Monday afternoon.
“(Anthony Richard) asked me where it went and I had no idea. I just shot it and heard the crowd go crazy,” Brazeau said. “It’s obviously a good feeling.”
The 26-year-old Brazeau signed a two-year, two-way contract with Boston on Sunday. Less than 24 hours later and without the benefit of a practice under his belt, he was active and starting his first career game.
Brazeau reflected on his journey after his career milestone.
“It’s obviously been hard,” Brazeau said. “It’s been a while, been a long time playing pro hockey until I got here. But now, obviously, it all worked out so it feels pretty good.”
With his parents flying into Boston on Monday morning and his sister arriving over the weekend, Brazeau relished the opportunity to play at TD Garden. He appreciated how Bruins fans showed him love both when his name was announced in the starting lineup, and after his goal tied the game, 2-2, less than 30 seconds after the Stars took a 2-1 lead.
“That was probably the biggest crowd I’ve ever played in front of and got to experience,” Brazeau said. “A lot of fun.”
He added: “It’s a cool feeling. It’s been a long time coming for me. I’ve worked hard to get here. So to see that, it kind of comes full circle and feels really good.”
Here are more notes from Bruins-Stars:
— Bruins bench boss Jim Montgomery and numerous players were thrilled for Brazeau, a puck-possession player who’s heavy down low, which was on display throughout the contest. He tied Brad Marchand for a team-high four shots on goal.
“I love it. I mean, what a great story,” Montgomery said before the game. “Someone who, I think, started out on an East Coast, two-way American League deal, fought his way to earn an American League deal and now he’s earned his way up. … I’m grateful to be a part of it, to be honest. It’s a wonderful story.”
After the win, Bruins goaltender Jeremey Swayman added: “He’s the best. It’s no surprise that he’s had success everywhere he’s gone. And we’re thrilled for him to come in and score a huge goal like that.”
— With Brazeau being added to the group Monday, the Bruins fourth line featured Jesper Boqvist in the middle along with Richard and Brazeau on the wings. It was Boston’s best line of the night with Boqvist and Brazeau each scoring goals and recording a plus-2 rating.
“It was nice to play with (Boqvist) and Rich at the start,” Brazeau said. “Playing down there in (Providence), it’s a big help coming into a locker room feeling comfortable.”
— Swayman put the Bruins on his back in overtime and in the shootout. Swayman, after allowing a leaky first-period goal, bounced back and recorded a career-high 43 saves on 46 shots. He also saved seven straight shootout chances, and had another clutch stop on Tyler Seguin late in the overtime period.
“Favorite moments, baby. It’s why I play,” Swayman said. “Just one of those games that you’re going to remember for a long time. I enjoyed it. It was really special to do that at home, especially after this swing that we’ve had of not getting games that we want to win in front of these fans. So really special to get an emotional win like that in front of the fans.”
— Oskar Steen cleared waivers Monday, which means he will head to Providence. Montgomery said before the game Boston would welcome Steen back to the organization, and attributed the move as a change the Bruins wanted to make during a losing skid.
— Bruins defenseman Hampus Lindholm went down awkwardly midway through the third period and never returned. Montgomery said he didn’t have any update on the star blueliner, but expected he would when he meets with reporters Tuesday.
— Boston honored Brad Marchand with a pregame ceremony. It included an awesome video from Bruins legends like Ray Bourque, Zdeno Chara, Patrice Bergeron and others. Marchand also received a tribute video from former teammates and opposing players, the message from Seguin being perhaps the best of all.
“It was special,” Marchand said of the pregame ceremony. “As your career goes on and you play a lot of games, you don’t remember all of them. But this is a night I’ll remember forever.”
— The Bruins, who went 2-3-2 on their seven-game homestand, now will be on the road for the next four contests. Boston travels to Edmonton on Wednesday, the first of three contests in Canada.
