It was only a matter of time before Fabian Lysell scored his first NHL goal.
That time came Sunday when he scored in the Boston Bruins’ 4-1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arena. Lysell was wide open in front of the net and Pavel Zacha delivered a perfect pass to the forward. And while Tristan Jarry was in position, Lysell was able to find the back of the net.
“I think it means a lot for a guy like him” interim coach Joe Sacco told reporters. “He sees himself as a little more of an offensive player and when you’re in that position, you want to produce offensively. Especially getting your first one in the National Hockey League, it’s always a weight lifted off your shoulders. Good on him. He’s doing some good things with the puck at times offensively. He’s attacking through the neutral zone, he’s attacking in the offensive zone. There are some tings to like in his game, for sure.”
The forward played one game for the Bruins in December but was reassigned to Providence where he spent the next three months and continued to develop his game. Lysell earned another call-up in March and has been with the team since.
Though he struggled through his first handful of games, Lysell began to find a groove on the ice and had a helping hand in a handful of goals.
And now he’s happy to get the first goal out of the way.
“It feels really good,” Lysell told team reporter Elaine Cavalieri. “Not a lot of games left to be able to do it, so it was nice to see it go in.”
Lysell has been developing in Providence for the last few seasons. He hasn’t gotten a lot of playing time with the Bruins, but with the season coming to an end and the team not going to the playoffs, it’s been an opportunity for Boston to get an extended look at its 2021 first-round pick.
“They’ve been really good for the past couple years, and obviously (it’s) hard to crack the roster,” Lysell said on TNT’s postgame studio show. “But I’m just trying to enjoy it out there and work hard when I’ve been able to come up.”
As for what he’ll do with the puck from his first goal, Lysell said he will probably bring it to his family in Sweden.
