Boychuk makes presence felt for Bruins

Enterprise, The (Brockton, MA) - Tuesday, October 13, 2009

By Adam Riglian
ENTERPRISE STAFF WRITER

Defenseman Johnny Boychuk was an instant hit in his Bruins' season debut on Monday, both on the ice and up in the stands

Boychuk, filling in for the injured Dennis Wideman, played well in the Bruins' 4-3 loss to the Colorado Avalanche at TD Garden, eliciting cheers from the crowd after knocking Colorado forward TJ Galiardi to the ice in the first period.

Boychuk skated a total of 17:15 and spent time on the power play and the penalty kill.

"I just tried to keep it short, and get the first one out of the way because you may get nervous if you haven't played in awhile," Boychuk said. "Once that was done, I felt totally comfortable out there."

Originally drafted by the Avalanche in the second round of the 2002 draft, the 25-year-old defenseman came to the Bruins in a trade for center Matt Hendricks in June of 2008.

Boychuk suited up for the Bruins once last season while spending 78 games in Providence where the 25-year-old won the Eddie Shore Award as the American Hockey League's outstanding defenseman with 20 goals and 45 assists in 78 regular season games.

Boychuk's totals led all AHL defensemen and set a Providence Bruins record for points by a defenseman as he finished second on the team in scoring behind Martin St. Pierre.

While Boychuk held his own on Monday against the team that had drafted him, he didn't get much opportunity to show off his scoring touch.

"There was only one time that I could really wind up to take a slapper," he said. "The other couple of times, I was really just trying to get it on net."

"It was OK," Bruins coach Claude Julien said of Boychuk's season debut. "I thought he gave us some good size. He battled well. For his first game, I was pleased with it."

The Bruins fought back from a two goal deficit to knot the score with Colorado, but two late Avalanche goals in the second period sent the B's off on their two-game road trip with another loss.

"Right now, I think we all realize we can be a lot better, mostly because of the decisions that we're making," Julien said, adding that the mistakes his team has made in the beginning of the season were "uncharacteristic."

The Bruins' defense continued to struggle, falling behind early and failing on the penalty kill. Boston has allowed 19 goals in its first five games, averaging nearly four goals a game, which is well above last year's average.

Defensive problems put the Bruins in an immediate hole, with Milan Hejduk and Scott Hannan striking just 37 seconds apart in the opening half of the first period to put Boston down 2-0.

"You've got to get back your identity," Julien said. "We used to be very good at that, and until we can get that straightened out, we're going to have to battle and come from behind all the time. That's what's putting us behind the eight-ball in every game."

Tuukka Rask made his second straight start in goal and while Julien would not elaborate on his goalie selection process, he thought Rask played well.

"Why should we pick on Tuukka and leave the other guys off the hook?" Julien said. "There are some bad mistakes made up front. The poor goaltenders are always the ones that are pointed about because they're the last defense."

Two of the Avalanche's four goals came on the power play, potted by Hejduk and Marek Svatos, and a third came on a David Jones' shorthanded breakaway. The second goal of the night came on a rebound off a slapshot that landed right on the stick of Hannan.

The Bruins did seem in top form during the first comeback, tying the game midway through the second period with Mark Recchi scoring off a behind-the-net pass from Patrice Bergeron and Blake Wheeler knocking a puck out of the air in front of the net off a bullet pass from Michael Ryder.

Zdeno Chara's penalty following Wheeler's goal allowed Colorado to strike back on the power play, with Svatos putting the Avalanche up for good. Michael Ryder scored a late goal to cut the deficit to one, but the Bruins could not find the equalizer as time expired.