BUFFALO — Sixteen days had passed since Linus Ullmark had seen an NHL shot. The ex-Sabre made the most of his free time.
In his Bruins debut Friday, Ullmark stopped 35 of 36 shots to lead his new club to a 4-1 win over Buffalo. The first-year Bruin, unsure of himself and his surroundings at the start of camp, was in command of the crease against the players who know him best.
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“It’s definitely going to be one of those lifelong memories for sure,” Ullmark said of grabbing his first win with his new team. “It was very special.”
Ullmark’s debut could have gone sideways from the start. In the first period, his ex-teammates made regular visits to dangerous areas of the ice. Ullmark turned back all 15 shots, including a Dylan Cozens backhander that slipped under his right pad but clanged off the goalie’s left skate. When Cozens tried to score on the rebound, Ullmark dove to his right to keep the puck out of the net.
“I thought he was awesome,” Brandon Carlo said. “I think he held us in that game throughout the first two periods especially. There were some chances that we needed to clean up in front of our net a little bit. He was a brick wall tonight.”
Without Ullmark, the Bruins could have limped out of the first period down by several goals. The Bruins could not slow down the Sabres’ regular and fast-moving arrivals in their end. The Bruins, usually sound at constructing layers of protection in the net-front area, were constantly chasing the buzzing Sabres. It did not help that Buffalo turned center ice into a launchpad.
“Most of it was they were coming through the neutral zone too easily,” Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said. “We were loose with our third guy. Now their D are coming. And we were one-and-done at the other end. Now we were one-and-done to the tune of a couple goals, which obviously helps.”
A superstar initiated the first one.
Perhaps Rasmus Dahlin will develop into a difference-making defenseman. But the No. 1 pick in 2018 usually comes out on the losing end of battles with Brad Marchand.
Friday was no different. Marchand dumped Dahlin behind the Buffalo goal line in the first period to jostle the puck loose. It did not take long for the turnover to end up behind Craig Anderson. Touches between Patrice Bergeron and Marchand turned into a David Pastrnak goal, giving the Bruins a 1-0 lead.
Later in the first, Mike Reilly’s crisp outlet pass caught the Sabres with three forwards up the ice. Tomas Nosek turned a three-on-two rush with Taylor Hall and Charlie Coyle into a 2-0 score.
It was a timely strike for Nosek. The first-year Bruin, who started the game as the No. 3 right wing, was on his first shift centering Hall and Coyle. Cassidy had made the switch partly because Craig Smith, the usual No. 2 right wing, was misfiring because of an undisclosed ailment that had kept him out of Thursday’s practice. Cassidy also hadn’t seen enough from the Hall-Coyle combination.
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“We’re trying to get Coyle and Hall going together,” Cassidy said. “But maybe it’s someone else in the middle and Charlie to the wing type of thing. It worked for today. Sometimes those are attention-getters. Sometimes you find solutions as well.”
Cassidy has a history of being aggressive with his lineup early in the season. Sometimes it’s in-game adjustments like promoting Nosek. Before the game, he altered his third defensive pairing.
John Moore was in. Connor Clifton was out. Cassidy targeted the entire blue line, not just Clifton, with his decision: Allowing five goals plus an empty-netter to Philadelphia was not good enough.
“We’re not putting it all on Cliffy,” Cassidy said. “It’s a message that if we don’t defend well enough, we’ll try other people until we get it right.”
Moore was limited to 24 games in 2019-20 after shoulder surgery. Last year, he made just five appearances until the grinding in his hip made playing impossible. On March 22, Moore underwent surgery to repair his labrum and smooth out the head of his femur to fit the hip socket.
“I got out of there on a wheelchair. Here I am playing in an NHL game,” Moore said. “I’m just celebrating that small victory. I’m up off the mat and I’m ready to go. I’m excited. I’m proud of myself. I’m proud of my support network: my family, my wife, my kids. A lot of people behind the scenes helped me get back here.”
Recovery from hip surgery did not grant Moore a free pass in training camp. He was one of two extra defensem*n along with Jakub Zboril.
On Oct. 9, the Bruins placed Moore on waivers. By doing so, the franchise signaled it was OK with losing Moore for nothing. Thirty-one teams passed on Moore’s two remaining years and $5.5 million remaining salary. Moore did not enjoy the process.
“Full range of emotions,” Moore said. “I really had no control over that decision. It’s a business decision. A step beyond that, I was proud of the way I showed up to camp. Proud of the way I competed. I felt I controlled what I could control. I always talk about signing my work. I felt like I could for what I did in camp. It’s definitely a chip on your shoulder for sure. I’ll use it for motivation.”
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Shortly after landing on waivers, Moore got a call. It was Bergeron.
“Within five minutes, he called me and let me know how much I mean to this group,” Moore said. “For someone like that, he’s never going to have to go through something like that. For him to make you feel like you’re wanted and you’re valued here, this group has unfinished business. We believe in each other. I want to be a part of that.”
Moore has always been a good teammate. He is one of the team’s better skaters. But because of his inconsistent defending, Moore has never gained lineup traction.
“Johnny’s had good games. Then the puck will end up in his net because he’ll run out of position,” Cassidy said. “Or his stick will be in the wrong spot. Some of those little details of the game, night after night, he’s got to make sure he brings them. Sometimes when you’re fighting for your spot, a guy like Johnny, who’s all-in on effort, will try to do too much at times. That’s what we try and tell him. ‘Just clean. Clean hockey. Let the play come to you.’”
Moore played 18:47. It was a tight performance.
“When you come out of a game and you don’t notice any gaffes on those types of players,” Cassidy said, “it probably means he was rock-solid.”
(Photo of Linus Ullmark and the Sabres’ Jeff Skinner (53): Kevin Hoffman / Getty Images)
Fluto Shinzawa is a senior writer for The Athletic covering the Boston Bruins. He has covered the team since 2006, formerly as a staff writer for The Boston Globe. Follow Fluto on Twitter @flutoshinzawa
