When the Bruins acquired Tyler Bertuzzi at the trade deadline, they believed that he was built for playoff hockey, despite the fact that he had not played a single NHL playoff game during his six years in Detroit.
Bertuzzi showed everyone why they believed that in Boston’s 3-1 win over the Florida Panthers in Game 1 Monday night.
No Bergeron, no problem for Bruins in Game 1
He made an immediate impact with a couple early hits and then a great assist on the opening goal, collecting a rebound and making a nifty behind-the-back pass to David Pastrnak for a power-play tally.
Bertuzzi also assisted on the Bruins’ third goal, once again doing so by getting to the front of the net and battling for a rebound. It was his put-back attempt that wound up sitting on Alex Lyon’s right pad, inviting Jake DeBrusk to whack it in before Lyon could find the puck.
It’s that kind of work in the dirty areas that has been Bertuzzi’s calling card for years, and it’s why the Bruins -- and plenty of others -- knew he was a playoff player even if he hadn’t gotten a chance to show it at the NHL level. Winning an OHL championship with Guelph in juniors and earning playoff MVP honors while leading AHL Grand Rapids to a Calder Cup in 2017 had not gone unnoticed.
“I mean, he has made his career in those areas in junior hockey and the American League,” Bruins coach Jim Montgomery said Monday night. “You know, he was MVP of the playoffs in the American League, and this is his first opportunity to play in the Stanley Cup Playoffs and I think you can see that he’s a playoff performer.
“…When we acquired him, we thought he was a guy that was made for the playoffs, and I thought his first shift, he laid out two huge hits and he just kept on making plays. The puck seems to follow him, and he makes plays and makes real good decisions with it.”
Something else that attracted the Bruins to Bertuzzi: He plays with an edge. He’s an agitator, a pest. He gets under opponents’ skin. That was also on display Monday, most notably on the funniest play of the night.
Apparently feeling like Nick Cousins’ stick was hanging around his midsection a little too long as the two were getting off the ice, Bertuzzi yanked Cousins’ stick out his hands, carried it back to the Boston bench with him, and then tried to break it.
It would have been a penalty had a ref seen it. Instead, it was just a perfect pest move, the kind of thing a younger Brad Marchand might have done… or might still do.
“It’s playoffs. There’s gonna be some stupid things that happen,” Bertuzzi said. “That was one of them.”
The Bruins would probably prefer Bertuzzi not do too many “stupid things,” but they’ll allow for one here and there if he’s doing everything else that he did Monday -- setting up teammates, wreaking havoc in front of the net, bringing energy and physicality.
Bertuzzi was third among Bruins forwards in ice time Monday night (18:40), he was tied for second on the team in shot attempts (4), and he was tied for the team lead in individual scoring chances (3). He skated on a line with Pastrnak and David Krejci, which was the Bruins’ top line by ice time.
Whether that will be Bertuzzi’s longer-term home once Patrice Bergeron returns remains to be seen. Usually that line’s left wing is Pavel Zacha, who is currently playing center between Marchand and DeBrusk with Bergeron out.
Wherever he’s playing, though, Bertuzzi will continue to be a “playoff performer” if he plays the way he did Monday night.
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