BOSTON — Like the rest of his Anaheim teammates, Frank Vatrano was in a good mood late Thursday night.
The Ducks, who’d been trailing by two goals with less than two minutes left in regulation scored twice to force overtime and a third time in the three-on-three extra period to beat the Bruins, 4-3, at TD Garden.
“I love this, love winning in this building. It’s always a good feeling,” said Vatrano, who is in his ninth NHL season.
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Vatrano grew up a Bruins fan in East Longmeadow and began his career playing for Boston, but it’s been almost six years since he was traded to Florida for a third-round pick. Only five players who were on the ice for the Bruins in his final game in Black and Gold — Charlie McAvoy, Jake DeBrusk, David Pastrnak, Brandon Carlo and Matt Grzelcyk — were in uniform last night.
Now 29, his life has changed drastically since. After five years in Florida, he spent part of one season with the New York Rangers before signing a three-year, $10,950,000 million deal with the Ducks a year ago. He’s married now and he and his wife Rebecca became parents in March. Boston feels like a long time ago.
“It doesn’t feel like I’ve ever played it before,” he said. “Just a couple of guys over there, but not too many left over there anymore.”
The Ducks opened the season 1-4, but Thursday was their second straight win. Vatrano’s five goals lead Anaheim and were tied for ninth in the NHL heading into the weekend.
He’s enjoying being a Californian and his role as a young veteran on the team.
“It’s a good place to live in. My family enjoys it. It’s definitely a place that was number one on my list in free agency and I was fortunate enough to go there. I’m excited with the choice I made,” he said. “Every day come to the rink with a positive attitude and work hard. I think you just got to lead by example, every single day, you know, especially with younger guys. They take note of that and that’s not just me, but everyone in this room is trying to do.”
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