Pouliot Eyeing Fast Start To Bruins Career
BOSTON (CBS) - With Benoit Pouliot replacing Jordan Caron as the third-line left wing Saturday night, the Bruins in their second game of the season, put on the ice the lineup they projected to feature after the summer team-building was through.
That lineup might get to stick together for a little while should Pouliot continue to show the signs of life he displayed – albeit in a brief 7:30 of ice time because of so much special-teams play – in the Bruins' 4-1 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning at TD Garden.
The 6-foot-3, 199-pound Pouliot, a one-time fourth overall draft pick, is supposed to be an impressive combination of size and speed, and he showed both while filling the third spot on a line with center Chris Kelly and Tyler Seguin, two fleet-of-skate players themselves.
"Segs is so fast, Kells is so good with the puck, protecting the puck, making plays. My game is speed and use my size, and I went to the net hard," said Pouliot after his regular-season Bruins debut. "I had a couple chances there; I could've had a couple [goals]. But [it was] first game, there's a lot left and I'm excited for the rest of the year."
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In past years, the Bruins had to wait a while for offseason additions that play on the wing – like Michael Ryder and Peter Schaefer – to produce. Pretty much both those guys waited until the playoffs. Even playoff hero Nathan Horton didn't really get going until the second third of last season.
For one night at least, it looked like Pouliot wanted to get his Bruins career on track early.
Pouliot excited the Garden with a hit on the forecheck on his first shift that caused Lightning defenseman Brett Clark to land on the seat of his pants. The Boston forward finished with two hits and two shots on net, including a point-blank chance that Lightning goaltender Mathieu Garon blocked with his midsection.
If Pouliot was tempted to just hang his head over the missed scoring chance, he didn't show it. For a guy whose desire has often been questions, Pouliot looked ready to prove his critics wrong with solid work along the walls and hard backchecking that broke up a couple Tampa Bay scoring chances.
It seemed like the extra day of practice between Thursday night's healthy scratch on opening night and Saturday evening made all the difference for Pouliot.
"I thought his energy, he competed hard, he made some good things happen, and I like the direction he took tonight," said head coach Claude Julien. "He's certainly continuing to show us that as he gets more comfortable, he seems to be bringing a little bit more. We all seemed to be happy with his game tonight."
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Pouliot said that watching the loss against Philadelphia from upstairs helped him absorb more about the Bruins' breakout and their systems. He asked a lot of questions before the Lightning game and admitted "I still got a lot to ask."
As he continues to settle in with the Bruins, Pouliot should gain confidence. That might make his scoring chances more numerous and turn him into someone the Bruins can count on to contribute in multiple ways.
Now that he left a mark during his foray into the lineup, he should stay there and be able to move his learning process ahead.
"For sure, I think being in the game you learn way faster than if you're not playing," he said. "You'll make mistakes. That's fine. Everyone makes mistakes. But at the same time, you just don't want to do it twice in a game and you learn from it. So today was a learning experience for me with the team and I've just got to keep that going and keep helping the team out any way I can."
Matt Kalman covers the Bruins for CBSBoston.com. He operates TheBruinsBlog.net and also contributes coverage to NHL.com and several other media outlets. Follow him on twitter @TheBruinsBlog.
