BOSTON — Sunday was always a game Morgan Geekie was likely to remember.
For starters, the Bruins forward scored two goals. After scoring just once in the previous 14 games, scoring twice is reason to hope that his slump might be behind him.
The first goal, which tied the game at 1-1 was also the first one his newborn son Max ever saw live as his wife Emma was there with their two children.
“It was Max’s first game today. It was nice to share it with him. It’ll always be something we remember,” Geekie said. “It’s nice to see some familiar faces on the glass. It means a little more when we go out there.”
The second goal was objectively memorable because most of the people in the Garden including most of those on the ice didn’t realize it had gone in.
It wasn’t one of those barely-crossed-the-goalline almosters either. Geekie ripped a power play shot from just inside the blue line past Samuel Montembeault.
But the goal light didn’t go off and the referee didn’t point at the net to signify a goal. It appeared that they each thought the puck had caromed out of play. Even Elias Lindholm was looking up in the air.
Marco Sturm didn’t realize until he’d watched replay.
“I didn’t know. Everyone was looking up,” he said.
But Geekie rushed in, pointing toward the goal where the puck had wedged itself between the netting and the bottom of the net.
“I saw a little black thing in the back of the net,” he said. “I hoped for the best. I’m glad I was right.”
As the referee realized he was right, the Bruins started celebrating and then the TD Garden crowd followed.
The goal was as important as it was unusual. As a milestone, it was the 100th of Geekie’s career.
After being down 1-0, 2-1 and 3-2, the goal gave the Bruins a 4-3 lead that they clung to for the final 5:53 of the game. It gave Boston its first win of the season in a game when it had trailed after the second period.
In a playoff race that figures to be tight down to the wire, the Bruins (30-20-2, 62 points) are currently in the second wild-card spot, the last playoff position. The goal gave them a victory that moved them closer to the Canadiens (63 points) and Sabres (63 points), who are just ahead of them in the standings and put some distance between them and the teams below them.
A point or two could eventually decide who does or doesn’t make the playoffs. If the Bruins do get in, this game and that goal could be memorable for more than just Geekie.
“To be able to come back in the third and put together a solid performance and get the two points is all that matters,” Geekie said. “It’s tough to win in this league. … It’s nice for us to get that one and just keep going.”
