Bruins Notes: Prospect Gets ‘Weight Lifted Off Shoulder’ In Win Over Penguins
Boston Bruins prospect Fabian Lysell was originally touted for his offensive skill set and goal-scoring ability.
He hadn’t shown it during his limited time in the NHL, though. That was until Sunday when he broke through in a 4-1 win for the Bruins over the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arena.
Lysell netted his first career goal at the 8:42 mark of the second period when he received a terrific pass from Pavel Zacha and put his point-blank bid past Penguins goalie Tristan Jarry.
Getting the first goal might help the 22-year-old Sweden native, who was surrounded by a ton of hype when selected in the first round of the 2021 NHL Draft, breathe a little easier.
“I think it means a lot for a guy like him,” interim Bruins head coach Joe Sacco told reporters, per team-provided video. “He sees himself a little bit more as an offensive player and certainly when you’re in that position, you want to produce offensively. And I think especially getting your first one in the National Hockey League, it’s always a weight lifted off your shoulder. Good on him.
“He’s doing some good things with the puck at times offensively. He’s attacking. He’s attacking through the neutral zone, he’s attacking the offensive zone. There’s some things to like in his game, that’s for sure.”
It took until Lysell’s 11th game in the NHL to find the back of the net. He might have been pressing, which would only have added to the reward of scoring — not only for him, but for his teammates, too.
“Every time you see someone score their first goal in the NHL, it’s always nice to see,” Bruins forward Elias Lindholm told reporters, per team-provided video. “It’s a good feeling for sure.”
The Bruins are in a much different position now than in years past with Lysell in the organization. They are in retool mode, which makes this stretch with the Bruins and the upcoming AHL playoffs an audition of sorts for Lysell to try to be with Boston on a permanent basis next season.
“They’ve been really good for the past couple years and obviously hard to crack the roster,” Lysell said on the TNT broadcast following the game. “But I’m just trying to enjoy it out there and work hard when I’ve been able to come up.”
Here are more notes from Sunday’s Bruins-Penguins game:
— David Pastrnak notched two assists in the win to give him 62 helpers on the season to go along with his 42 goals for 104 points. It was Pastrnak’s fifth straight multi-point game, which set a new career high, and he became just the third Bruins player in the last 30 years — joining Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron — to reach the feat.
“I already knew he was a special player, but just seeing it firsthand just confirms it even more,” Lysell said. “Tremendous hockey sense. Obviously, the shot. Everything is elite.”
— Joonas Korpisalo continued his steady showing in a backup role by stopping 23-of-24 shots. If that’s his last start of the season, Korpisalo will finish the campaign with an 11-10-3 record and a .893 save percentage and 2.98 goals-against average.
— Lindholm playing on the top line alongside Pastnrak and Morgan Geekie has worked well as of late. Lindholm scored a goal and had an assist in the win over the Penguins. He now has four goals and four assists in seven games this month.
“Obviously, they have good chemistry and it’s pretty easy to come in and just try to do the simple stuff,” Lindolm said.
— The win didn’t hurt Boston’s draft positioning as it still has the fourth-fewest points in the NHL. The Bruins, who have a 33-39-5 record, currently have a 9.5% chance to land the No. 1 overall pick.
— The Bruins finished with a 13-25-5 road record.
— The Bruins wrap up the regular season Tuesday night when they take on the New Jersey Devils from TD Garden. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET and you can catch complete coverage of the game on NESN+.