Boston’s Ian Mitchell, left, Mason Lohrei, center, and Danton Heinen celebrate following Lohrei’s first NHL goal during the Bruins’ 3-2 win over Dallas Monday night.
Boston’s Ian Mitchell, left, Mason Lohrei, center, and Danton Heinen celebrate following Lohrei’s first NHL goal during the Bruins’ 3-2 win over Dallas Monday night.
Monday was a big night for two Bruins rookies. Mason Lohrei and Johnny Beecher both scored their first NHL goals minutes apart in Boston’s 3-2 win over the Dallas Stars at American Airlines Center. While Beecher has been with the team since the start of the season, Lohrei was part of the final training camp cuts. He was recalled in the wake of Matt Grzelcyk’s injury that landed the defenseman on long-term injured reserve and Charlie McAvoy’s four-game suspension.
Beecher has been taking on a bigger role after Milan Lucic landed on long term injured reserve and Jakub Lauko was placed on IR, and it was on full display Monday. His first career goal was an absolute snipe and he continued to do all the little things right for the Bruins.
“I think it’s just about as happy as you could ever be,” Beecher said. “Not only to get the first one but to score a big goal in an away game to help your team win. My line played fantastic and helped me get a couple of opportunities. So it was good.”
Lohrei is trying to become a mainstay in the Bruins’ lineup after beginning the season in Providence. It wasn’t an easy decision to send him to the AHL, and the 22-year-old is attempting to make it even harder when it comes time for the Bruins to make a decision about him again.
His first NHL goal was a nice shot without hesitation from the slot through traffic to make it 2-0.
“Pretty cool to watch that one go in. (Danton Heinen) made a great play, (Oskar Steen) screening in front. Made it easy on me, just had to hit the net,” Lohrei said. “... You work your whole life to be here and you always dream about scoring your first goal. So, pretty cool to check that one off the list.”
With the Bruins down a slew of players on both defense and offense, Lohrei and Beecher have provided the Black and Gold some depth early on in the seaon — something Brad Marchand said is “great to have.”
“They’re continuing to establish themselves and building a foundation of their game and their careers. It’s always exciting to see where they start and where they’ll get to,” Marchand said. “The potential on both of those guys is through the roof. It’s great they’re continuing to get better.”
It’s unclear what the future holds for Lohrei. McAvoy will return from his four-game suspension Saturday at the earliest. The defenseman is appealing his suspension, but it’s unclear when his hearing is and when the verdict will come. Grzelcyk will miss at least 10 games and 24 days, and Derek Forbort is day-to-day. At some point, the Bruins will need to decide if they want to continue to develop Lohrei in the AHL or if he’s done enough to stick around.
Until then, Bruins coach Jim Montgomery is just enjoying what the rookies are bringing to the table when presented with the opportunity.
“Two goals from rookies and the fourth line. It was really important. We really wanted to jump on them early, and we were able to do that,” he said. “Then they got a big push last seven minutes of the first and the second. I thought in the last five minutes of the second and the third, we played well with a lead.”
