A pretty dull 2014-15 regular season opener got a jolt of energy late in the third period as Chris Kelly of all people notched the game-winning goal with 1:51 left in the third period. From there, Boston held on for a 2-1 victory over Philadelphia at TD Garden. The B's outshot the Flyers 33-20 but without David Krejci (who's on IR), Boston's reshuffled lines couldn't generate too many great scoring opportunities.
Steve Mason (31 saves) is Steve Mason so even though he had a fine game for nearly 59 minutes, his fatal mistake of trying to hit a floating puck with his blocker (rather than gloving it) led to Kelly's goal, probably the easiest non-empty netter of his career. Adam McQuaid and Carl Soderberg had the assists on Kelly's goal.
Reilly Smith only played two preseason games but that didn't matter since his chemistry with linemates Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron seemed to carry over to this season. He gave Boston a 1-0 lead at 10:39 of the first period with a power play goal. He one-timed a sneaky pass by Soderberg with Bergeron providing the second assist.
For a few days at least, the B's have a new cult hero: 32-year-old journeyman Bobby Robins who went to UMass Lowell and made his NHL debut last night after 499 games in the minors (that's insane). He's no Shawn Thornton but that's his job and he didn't disappoint, dropping the gloves with Luke Schenn in the second period.
Tuukka Rask (19 saves) appeared to be on his way to an easy shutout but Sean Couturier tied it at 4:19 of the third period. He redirected Jakub Voracek's pass with Matt Read also getting credit for an assist.
Boston didn't get too long to enjoy these two points as they hopped on a plane to Detroit (there is still an aiport there, right?). They'll face the Red Wings tomorrow night (7:30, NESN) in Detroit's season-opener. We already know that Krejci is out and Red Wings star Pavel Datsyuk won't play either as he nurses a shoulder injury.
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