BOSTON — The Bruins, for about 30 minutes on Sunday, turned into fans prior to dropping the puck with the Montreal Canadiens.
Current Bruins players and coaches allowed themselves to get caught up in the pregame ceremony, watching with amazement as the Original Six franchise honored legends of the past for its centennial game.
It was a momentous occasion and one that was certainly felt among all those who currently reside in the Bruins locker room.
“Like I said, special day. I think that’s the best way to put it,” Bruins interim head coach Joe Sacco said following Boston’s 6-3 win. “For me, too, growing up here, being a local kid, seeing these guys that I watched play when I was a young kid — I mentioned it earlier — on channel 38. I used to watch Sunday night hockey games with Boston and Montreal. You have good memories, you draw back on a lot of those memories, they come back and they start to reignite in your head. It was a lot of fun.”
Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman drew plenty of inspiration from the goosebumps-worthy pregame moment. History was on full display with Bobby Orr, Ray Bourque, Cam Neely and Patrice Bergeron, among other Bruins greats, taking part in the festivities.
Seeing all those former Bruins stars in one place impressed upon Swayman the responsibility of representing the Black and Gold.
“It’s more than a game, especially against that team,” Swayman said. “It’s honoring again all those who came before us and put in the groundwork, set the culture, the standard. It’s obvious when you see all the alumni that stick around Boston, how much it means to every player that puts on the jersey. And I couldn’t be more honored and proud to be one of those people and I’m going to do whatever I can to do it the right way like they did.”
Bruins captain Brad Marchand watched plenty of pregame ceremonies over his 16 seasons with Boston. This one was different, though, especially with Marchand being honored as well.
And everything that went into the day, including coming out on top against a fierce rival, is something Marchand won’t soon forget.
“There’s not many games through your career that you get to have that many legends in the building,” Marchand said. “The different events, stuff that went on, not just for tonight but the last year has been really special. The history of the game and this organization is something we’re all very proud of in here. … It is extremely special to be part of things like that. It’s special now, but I think it will be even more special down the road when you get to look back at your career.
“There’s a lot of days that kind of blend together and go by, but this is one that will forever stand out.”
Here are more notes from Sunday’s Bruins-Canadiens game:
— The Bruins put together an offensive outburst in the first period to take a stranglehold of the game. Boston scored three goals in just 1:10 as Charlie McAvoy, David Pastrnak and Charlie Coyle all scored in that quick span. Boston also scored six goals for the second time in three games, and it tied the Bruins’ largest scoring output of the season on home ice — they also scored six goals in their home opener against the Canadiens.
— McAvoy, who had a special celebration following a shorthanded breakaway goal just 38 seconds into the second period, and Coyle both scored two goals and were joined by Mark Kastelic (two assists) and Cole Koepke (one goal, one assist) in having two-point nights. Coyle is now up to seven goals on the season, which ranks third on the team.
— Kastelic saw plenty of the penalty box in the win. He was called for roughing against Canadiens defenseman Arber Xhekaj midway through the second period and Kastelic also received a 10-minute misconduct for dropping his gloves and repeatedly going after Xhekaj after he doled out a hit on Trent Frederic.
— The Bruins return to action Tuesday night as they begin a back-to-back by taking on the Detroit Red Wings. Puck drop from TD Garden is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET.
