BOSTON — After practice on Friday, Bruins coach Jim Montgomery talked about how much of Pat Maroon’s game is overlooked because of his ability to mix it up.
“His ability to hold onto pucks and his ability to make plays is incredibly underrated,” the Bruins coach said.
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Montgomery looked prophetic, 2:26 into the game.
The highlights of the Bruins’ first goal will show a two-on-one where Jesper Boqvist makes a terrific pass to Johnny Beecher who smokes it past Ilya Samsonov to put Boston ahead. That was the pretty part.
But before the odd-man rush, it was Maroon fighting for the puck on the right-wing boards. He shoved aside 6-foot-5 Joed Edmundson and held off 6-foot-2 Ryan Reeves to get the puck and feed Boqvist to make all of it possible.
“The guy has three cups for a reason. He made an unbelievable play,” Beecher said. “The goal doesn’t happen without him.”
The goal was a launching pad for the Bruins who grabbed early momentum in their best-of-seven series with a 5-1 win over Toronto.
“The play he made, that’s what he’s good at — making subtle plays that build the team game,” Montgomery said.
Brad Marchand echoed his coach.
“On the ice, people don’t give him the acknowledgment of his skill, especially down low,” he said. “He made a great play on that first goal. He understands the importance of the little plays in the game.”
After that, Maroon was every bit the hard-to-play-against physical presence the Bruins hoped they were getting when they traded for him. This was the TD Garden crowd’s first chance to see No. 61 in a home game. His only two regular season appearances had been on the road in Pittsburgh and Washington.
Maroon joked when he arrived at the trade deadline he was about to play for fans who used to hate him because of his time in St. Louis and Tampa. All was forgiven as the Bruins fans warmed to him quickly. The land of the Big Dig appreciated the Big Rig. He led Boston with six hits and all six were noticeable. He buried Morgan Rielly near the mid-point in the first period. That would have been the Maroon hit people talked about leaving the game if he hadn’t topped it just over a minute later.
On that one, he lowered his shoulder and launched Timothy Liljegren into the Bruins bench as Boston fans roared.
“It’s a lot of emotion that comes our way because the crowd gets into it,” Montgomery said.
Maroon played 11:28, including 4:22 on the power play, and showed no hesitancy from the back injury that sidelined him earlier this season.
