Donnelly: Tyler Bertuzzi was made for the Stanley Cup Playoffs

Tyler Bertuzzi probably thought he'd perennially get a shot to make a playoff run when the Detroit Red Wings selected him 58th overall in the second round of the 2013 draft. 

The Red Wings were five years removed from winning their 13th Stanley Cup in 2008 and four removed from a trip to the finals. They had made the playoffs for the 22nd consecutive season.

But as Bertuzzi bode his time in junior hockey and the American Hockey League, Detroit's dynastic mystique slowly drifted into obscurity. 

His first full season as a pro, which saw him log 30 points in 71 AHL games in 2015-16, was the last time the Wings would make it to the postseason. 

He got a seven-game look in the NHL the following year, the first time in which the Stanley Cup Playoffs went ahead without Detroit in 25 seasons. Down on the farm, however, Bertuzzi was integral in AHL Grand Rapids' run to a Calder Cup, putting up 19 points (9g, 10a) in 19 playoff games en route to playoff MVP. That run was two years removed from leading the Guelph Storm to an OHL championship with 17 points (10g) in 18 postseason contests. 

With rings on his fingers and near point-per-game clips in the OHL and AHL playoffs, Bertuzzi had accomplished about all he could before establishing himself as one of the NHL's most unique players with a desirable blend of sandpaper and skill. 

But as the Red Wings toiled in a still ongoing retool over the next six seasons, Bertuzzi never had an opportunity to take his postseason pedigree into the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

That was until Monday night in Boston.

In front of a well-lubricated Marathon Monday crowd, Bertuzzi tallied two assists and was one of the Bruins' best offensive drivers en route to a 3-1 win over the Florida Panthers to begin the playoffs.

He said it was everything he hoped it would be and more. 

"It was a fun building to play in tonight," Bertuzzi said postgame on Monday. "I was saying it kind of felt like my first game as a Bruin all over again. First few shifts, kind of got it out of the way, then went from there. ... The crowd and they’re waving the towels, it was pretty surreal.”

As Game 1 went along, one thing became evident. Bertuzzi was made for playoff hockey.

The Bruins had that in mind when they traded for the play-making agitator from the Detroit Red Wings in exchange for a 2024 first-round pick and a 2025 fourth-round selection on March 2.

"When we acquired him, we felt he was a guy who was made for the playoffs," Jim Montgomery said Monday night. "I thought his first shift, he laid out two huge hits. He just kept making plays. The puck seems to follow him, and he makes plays and makes real good decisions with it."

Bertuzzi skated alongside David Krejci and David Pastrnak. His chemistry with Pastrnak has become apparent, particularly on the power play, where Bertuzzi has made a living around the front of the net. He deftly tapped a no-look backhander to Pastrnak for a chance on a gaping net to open the scoring and send TD Garden into a frenzy. 

"I just kind of knew he was going to be there," Bertuzzi said. "You know, he's always around the net and in good spots. If I could just get it over into an area, he would have a good look."

Each of Bertuzzi's four goals since coming over from Detroit has been right around the net. Three have been around the crease on the power play. Against Florida, he had two shots right in front of the crease and another miss in the slot. After his power play setup to Pastrnak, Bertuzzi and Pavel Zacha swarmed the blue paint in the second period, battling to keep the puck alive before Jake DeBrusk spotted it and whacked it in for the Bruins' critical third goal.

His playmaking and finishing ability in the dirty areas of the ice adds an important layer to Boston's attack. That it translated, so far, to the playoffs where finding Grade-A ice is even more at a premium bodes well for the Bruins. 

“I mean, he has made his career in those areas in junior hockey and the American League," Montgomery said. "You know, he was MVP of the playoffs in the American League, and this is his first opportunity to play in the Stanley Cup Playoffs and I think you can see that he’s a playoff performer. And that play on the power play goal, his hockey sense, he has real elite poise in and around the net. A lot of guys would have taken that and tried to stuff it in the net on the backhand, and he just pops it over for an empty net goal.”

As the first period wore on, he had Radko Gudas teed up for a hit in the corner, still giving him a hard bump as the built defenseman spun out of the contact. About 20 seconds later. Bertuzzi was going the other way with Krejci, who fluttered a cross-ice saucer pass to a streaking Bertuzzi. Alex Lyon made a strong save, coming out to challenge the redirect. He landed another hit on Carter Verhaghe in the same corner in the second period. 

After finishing the regular season mainly with Zacha and Pastrnak, Bertuzzi stuck to his identity, again showing his versatility and ability to play with anyone Montgomery pencils him next to.

"I played with [Krejci] a little bit, but mostly Pastrnak," Bertuzzi said. "He's such a smart player. Always in good spots. He's very good defensively. So solid timing for us."

Brad Marchand said the Bruins were confident Bertuzzi would be able to rise to the moment.

"He did great. He’s a competitor, and he battles extremely hard. I don’t think there are any question marks about him," Marchand said. "He’s won in the past. He was incredible in a Calder run they had in [Grand Rapids]. He’s just one of those guys you hate to play against. He brings it every night. Like I said, his compete level is through the roof. 

"A guy that you knew was going to show up and be a playoff-type player. He had a great game, so it was great to see.”

High praise, coming from the player who was voted least enjoyable to play against, but would like to have on your team two years running in the NHLPA player poll.

Bertuzzi's interaction with Nick Cousins in the third period was a page out of Marchand's playbook, ripping the Panthers forward's stick out his hands and taking it back to the Bruins bench as a souvenir, where he tried to break it. With the task of facing the likes of Matthew Tkachuk, Radko Gudas and other snarly Florida skaters, guys like Bertuzzi, Marchand and Garnet Hathaway's ability to get under the opponent's skin will go a long way in this series.

“I mean, it’s playoffs. There are going to be some stupid things that happen. That was one of them," Bertuzzi said. "That’s going to be going on all series. Just try to stay out of it as much as I can or be smart about when I do it and not try to take a penalty. Just going to keep working hard.”

His decorated playoff resume at the junior and minor league levels evidently carries weight amongst the B's as well. That championship run in the American League may have been six seasons ago but to Bertuzzi, playoff hockey maintains a similar nature, no matter the level.

“Honestly, it’s kind of hard to remember, but, you know, it’s obviously hard hockey to play. It’s playoff hockey," he said. "Just got to take it day by day. That’s what it is here. We need to win four, and that’s one. We’ve got to move on and get ready for the next one.”

Bertuzzi knows firsthand the frustration of standing idly by as half of the league has the opportunity to chase after the sport's ultimate prize. Monday was the first time he had laced up his skates in the postseason since raising the Calder Cup above his head in celebration with Grand Rapids on June 13, 2017.

“Yeah, I would always watch, especially cause you’d go back home and watch it with your family - everybody loves watching hockey," he said. "So, it’s obviously tough watching. You want to be part of it. Now I know what it really feels like to be part of it. I never want to miss it now.”

It wasn't as if the 28-year-old went 20 years without playing any type of playoff hockey, though, as one reporter noted.

"Feels like it," Bertuzzi said. "It had been a while. Definitely a lot of emotions. Try to slowly get into it. Not get too high, and not get too low. Just build off this crowd."

Now that he's here in the Stanley Cup Playoffs as a key addition to a historic season for the Bruins, Bertuzzi knows the stakes at hand.

“This is everyone’s dream when you play in the NHL, to chase this trophy. You can’t take these moments for granted.”