LpBrad Marchand had lit the lamp just 22 seconds earlier on Thursday night, but Chris Wagner was still pretty steamed as he hopped over the boards for the next shift in the first period.
Marchand’s tally had tied the contest against Buffalo, 1-1, but the marks on the scoreboard stood in stark contrast to the actual product on the ice, as the Sabres landed the first 14 shots on goal of the evening — with a point shot from Brandon Carlo signaling the B’s first shot on net with 7:49 left in the opening stanza.
For Wagner and his linemates, the frustrations stemming from the poor performance on the ice started to snowball, given that Bruce Cassidy took that fourth line to task earlier this week when it comes to logging impactful shifts.
By the time Sabres forward Curtis Lazar started to knock around B’s rookie Urho Vaakanainen following a scrum in the B’s crease, Wagner had finally had enough.
Boston’s fourth line hasn’t cashed in offensively nearly as much as the numbers might reflect, but Wagner did know one way in which the B’s bottom-six corps could provide a spark.
The scrap didn’t last long, but Wagner reprimanded Lazar for tagging Vaakanainen in short order — landing a few punches before both skaters fell to the ice after the Walpole native connected on a heavy uppercut.
“It’s Urho, so I don’t like guys taking liberties on him," Wagner said. "Some personal frustration too, team frustration. But yeah, it’s a lot of things. Just kind of dead in the first period. Something like that usually helps.”
The usual suspects did plenty of the heavy lifting during Thursday’s 3-2 victory — Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak tallied all three goals, the top power-play unit cashed in twice, and Tuukka Rask stood on his head in net.
But as Cassidy was quick to note, Wagner's tussle was needed during the sluggish frame — and was a positive development for a forward trio looking to leave their imprint on the game beyond the box score.
"I think Wags — listen, that line has to play a certain way and tonight, we were trying to pull it out of them," Cassidy said. "Like, get in there and bang. Listen, we’re not on. And that’s where they have to recognize, as a line, ‘Okay, we’re going to get some extra shifts here because we’re going to be the energy line, we’re going to get the crowd into it, we’re going to slowly turn the momentum, and eventually they did. And Wags had a lot to do with that."
Ideally, the goals start rolling in soon for Wagner and his linemates. But for the time being, he's more than happy to spark the bench with a couple of heavy hooks.
“That’s what I always watched when I was little," Wagner said of the Bruins' habit of dropping the gloves to get a rise from the crowd. "You kinda want to build on that. I know the crowd appreciates it too. It’s a combination of things."
OTHER NOTES:
Krug set to return: After missing the previous five games, Torey Krug is expected to return for Saturday’s game against the Wild, with the blueliner taking part in Friday’s practice at Warrior Ice Arena while donning a normal practice jersey.