Wingels wows
Newcomer jumps right in to help B’s
Tommy Wingels hit a favorable stretch of the Bruins schedule to become the new kid in town.
Wingels made his B’s debut with a goal and an assist in Tuesday’s 4-3 overtime victory against the Carolina Hurricanes at the Garden. The game was the first of six straight at home, an uninterrupted segment that should help the center get acclimated to his new surroundings.
“I think being comfortable in a place, in an environment and in a locker room goes a long way and also getting some practices in,” Wingels said after prac- tice yesterday morning at Warrior Ice Arena. “You need time with the guys around the rink and away from the rink, and that is important. I’m glad we have this homestand here to get to know the city and get my bearings. If you are going back and forth you don’t really have the ability to feel settled, and I think it goes a long way.
“It’s really worked out here for me with the schedule.”
B’s general manager Don Sweeney acquired the free agent-to-be from the Chicago Blackhawks in an 11thhour deal executed before Monday’s trade deadline, giving up a conditional fifth-round pick in the 2019 draft. The return becomes a fourth-round selection for the Blackhawks if the Bruins advance beyond the first round of the playoffs this spring, or if Wingels re-signs this summer.
Wingels’ arrival coincided with the devastating news that top center and Hart Trophy candidate Patrice Bergeron would be out for an uncertain period with a small fracture in his right foot. Instead of watching from the ninth floor at the Garden as a healthy scratch, coach Bruce Cassidy started Wingels against the Hurricanes in the middle of the third line between wingers David Backes and Danton Heinen.
Regular third-liner Riley Nash filled the void left by Bergeron with the top trio to center wingers Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak.
Some timely offense helped Wingels ingratiated himself with the home crowd. With Cassidy’s lines briefly out of the usual order, Wingels forced a turnover in the slot and fed Nash for a backhander that cut the B’s deficit to 3-2 with 2.9 seconds to play in the first period. Wingels then scored the tying goal with a top-shelf wrist shot from the circle at 5:34 of the second.
“Every team you join is different and every team has a different vibe and different personality to it,” said Wingels, who turns 30 in April. “I could tell here from the get-go that the expectation here is to win and it’s a mix of older guys and lot of young guys that are impact players. It is a good group and it’s built well. I think you have that youthful energy and the experience of the older guys to help those guys along. It is a fun group, the guys laugh but the guys work hard.”