BOSTON — With just over 5 minutes left in a tied first period, Bruins rookie Matt Poitras skated into the right wing corner after the puck. With Tampa’s Brayden Point, one of his idols, pressuring him over his left shoulder and Nick Perbix fighting him for possession along the boards, Poitras won the battle and backhanded the puck out to Charlie McAvoy at the point.
The veteran defenseman unloaded a slapshot past Andrei Vasilevskiy to give the Bruins a lead they never relinquished.
It was the first of two assists Poitras had in Boston’s 7-3 win over the Lightning on Saturday at TD Garden.
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The game was Poitras’ first back in the Boston lineup since Dec. 16. When the Bruins loaned him to Team Canada for the World Junior Championships in Sweden, they hoped their 19-year-old rookie would come back confident, energized and ready to contribute. When he’s played well in preseason and early in the year, he forced his way into a roster spot, by showing a tenacity to win pucks on offense and then a tendency to do smart things with the puck once he got it.
That play to help create McAvoy’s goal was a good way to start his return.
“I felt good. My legs felt good,” said Poitras, who played his last World Junior game in Sweden on Wednesday. “I felt like I played a pretty good game. … It felt like a reset to get back here and get back in the lineup. It felt like I had the jitters like your first game in the lineup again. There was a lot of excitement.”
Jim Montgomery was encouraged. Poitras played just 16 shifts over 11:01 on the ice. Montgomery said a Lightning injury impacted the matchups the Bruins were seeking which cost the third and fourth-line players some ice time.
“I thought he was really good,” the Bruins coach said. “He looked fresh. He was making plays. I wish I could have gotten them out there more. (Tampa) only had 11 forwards dressed and they lost one. You want to make sure you’re putting him in situations where he’s going to be able to have success. The third and fourth lines got a little bit short because of who I was matching them up against. I’m looking forward to the next game where they have four lines at Colorado (Tuesday) and we can play him a lot more.”
Poitras briefly left the ice after his second assist. While Trent Frederic was scoring the Bruins’ third goal, Poitras was getting his face smashed against the glass near the Boston bench. He briefly walked down the tunnel toward the dressing room but returned quickly.
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