If first impressions are everything or just a sign of what's to come, deadline acquisitions Rick Nash and Tommy Wingels are going to make the prices Bruins general manager Don Sweeney paid to pry them out of their respective cities look like peanuts.
Especially if they're going to carry the Bruins to victories and endear themselves as seamless fits the way they did in Tuesday's 4-3 overtime win against the Hurricanes.
After an impressive debut in Buffalo on Sunday, the 33-year-old Nash began his night with a ridiculous save to pull an inching puck off the Boston goal line and prevent a goal. He later finished his first period with his first goal as a Bruin with a stellar snipe on the Hurricanes' Scott Darling, and as the perfect cap to a sequence that showed just how dangerous the Jake DeBrusk-David Krejci-Nash trio can be when playing their roles to a T.
First goal as a Bruin for Rick Nash. pic.twitter.com/lXJeWth3XA
— NHL GIFs (@NHLGIFs) February 28, 2018"Well, he clearly, he attacks defensemen. He's a big man, so he backs people off," Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy said of Nash's impact on the B's second line. "So, it's going to allow Jake some room to get to the net. I thought Jake had lots of juice tonight. He was really flying out there, made some plays, was on the puck, going to the net. He looked like a smaller version of Rick Nash tonight, to be honest with you, which will make Krech, obviously, better because he likes to bring people with him and find the guys with speed.
"He helped that line, I thought, a lot tonight. It looked good to me."
Not to be outdone, however, Tommy Wingels (a late arrival to Boston and completely absent from the on-ice portion of Tuesday morning's pregame skate), showed off the all-around energy that can make him a versatile fit on the Black and Gold's bottom-six.
Wingels' night included a brilliant spinning assist on a goal scored with just 2.9 seconds remaining in the first period, a second period tally that completed a two-goal comeback, and an efficient two hits and wins in three of his five faceoffs in 15:06 of action.
"Lots of energy, physical, obviously contributed offensively, played positionally well," Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy said of the Blackhawk-turned-Bruin's first game in town. "From bench level, looked like he was just a smart, hard player. Nice to see him get on the board early for us. I see Rick [Nash> get on the board; guys get traded; they always want to get on the scoresheet as quick as they can, and good for them."
Nash's contributions, if we're to buy into the obvious chemistry he developed with Krejci and DeBrusk in a losing effort on Sunday, was almost to be expected. But to see Wingels also jump into the mix and find those kind of tangible results was downright surprising.
These are the kind of things that speak to the way that the core of this Boston group has welcomed new faces and people into their lineup -- be it from the AHL, NCAA, or even outside the organization -- this year. And it also speaks to the kind of talents that the Bruins have identified as pieces that can fit into their puzzle without compromising the structure and concepts that's made this B's team of the league's best.
"They're both experienced players in the league, and I think they're good people that want to help the team win, so that's part of it," Cassidy said of Nash and Wingels. "We wanted them, they can help a good team be better, so I think that's part of it, as well. Like anybody, you go to a new job, you want to impress -- you know, (make a) good first impression. I think that's human nature, and they've done that."
"If you get traded this is the kind of place you want to go to," Wingels, who noted the chemistry of this B's squad and praised Zdeno Chara as one of the most well-respected leaders in all of hockey for setting that tone, said. "A hungry team, a team that is capable of winning it all and a team with the skill and work ethic of the Bruins."
And it's those latter points of emphasis that are making Nash and Wingels look like Black and Gold naturals just hours into their Boston run.
The Big Bad Blog is presented by:
