The Bruins 2023-2024 regular season kicked off with a win the other night against the Connor Bedard led Chicago Blackhawks. I wasn’t there, but did make a nice batch of Chicago-style Italian beef sandwiches and won $175 bucks on Bedard getting his first NHL goal against the Bruins. Not a bad night, actually.
Beecher Bingo?
If you had Johnny Beecher on your Bingo card for first Bruins fight of the year, please come forward. He was centering the 4th line and making his NHL debut. I was super impressed by not only his play, but the entire line of Beecher, Milan Lucic, and Jakub Lauko. They could be the best 4th line since the famed Merlot line of the mid 2000’s. It’s a small sample size, but they were impressive.
Anyway, the scrap. After Beecher boarded Chicago’s Cole Guttman early in the second period, Chicago’s Jason Dickinson skated quickly to his teammate’s defense. There was no penalty initially for the board, so Dickinson was looking to dole out some frontier justice which had been allowed to seethe for a while – which makes it that much worse. Because dole out, he did.
First NHL Game = First NHL Fight
Beecher, in his first NHL game, having his first NHL fight, did what a lot of kids do. He grabbed on for dear life and tried to get his face far away from the incoming rights that Jason Dickinson was hurling his way. Problem is, when doing that you often make your face a primary stationary target. That’s exactly what happened and Dickinson gave him so many rights that Johnny was begging for a left.
Later in the scrap, Beecher went on the offensive and landed a couple of hard right hands of his own, but the fight was a clear win for Jason Dickinson. I will say Beecher hung in there nicely, and good on him for standing in there and taking a beating. A lot of kids in his position would have turtled, but he took his licks and got in a few of his own. Might be eating soft foods for a day, but it was certainly a memorable first NHL game for Johnny Beecher!
Overall, I was encouraged by the Bruins start Wednesday and thought the 4th line was spectacular. David Pastrnak picked up right where he left off in 22-23 scoring two goals. The first came off a great feed from prodigal son, and Bruins legend Milan Lucic in his return to the club! Trent “Nightmare on Causeway Street” Frederic got the Bruins first goal of the centennial season, and was a factor every time he was on the ice.
All in all, it was a solid effort by the Black and Gold and (again) I won that $175 bucks and gooned about 4 roast beed sammies. Good night? A good night indeed, sirs!