Matt Poitras shows how he can elevate Bruins’ offense in season debut

"I thought that's the best game he's played as an NHL player."

David Pastrnak had to do a double-take on the ice Saturday afternoon.

Not because of the slick, cross-slot feed that hit him on the tape. Nor the open runway of ice in front of Kings goalie Darcy Kuemper.

Rather, it was the supporting cast around him during 3-on-3 overtime, with the Bruins superstar flanked by 20-year-old Matthew Poitras and 23-year-old Mason Lohrei.

“In the middle of that shift, I was thinking, ‘Oh my god, I’m on the ice with these kids’. … I have some skating to do to be able to catch up with them,” Pastrnak said.

With the additional ice afforded to them in the extra period of play, Boston’s top youngsters capitalized alongside the team’s top sniper.

With just over two minutes left in OT, Lohrei kept a puck alive for Boston, batting it along the boards from center ice. The puck skittered toward Poitras — his legs already sapped at the end of a shift.

The young pivot lofted a backhand pass to Pastrnak, who fed the biscuit back over to Lohrei — gliding back into the play. As Quinton Byfield pulled toward Lohrei in hopes of putting the playmaking defenseman under duress, the young D-man sent the puck back over to Pastrnak.

With Byfield and Trevor Moore pulled out of position, Pastrnak had ample time and space to beat Kuemper — snapping the puck into twine to cap Boston’s 2-1 OT win over Los Angeles.

Pastrnak lighting the lamp is far from a surprise these days. But to have both Lohrei and Poitras pull on the same rope to give Boston two points was a welcome sight for Jim Montgomery.

Lohrei, scratched on Thursday after a rough outing against Florida in the season opener, rebounded with the primary helper. But it was Poitras in particular — over eight months since playing in his last NHL contest — who earned the most praise from his coach.

“I mean, those kids are special young players who are learning to be real good players in this league,” Montgomery said. “Love the response by Lohrei after not playing last game.

“And then Matty Poitras — for his first game back in what was it? Call it eight months? I mean, special. I thought that’s the best game he’s played as an NHL player, including some two-goal games last year.”

The second-year pro — who missed the first two games of the 2024-25 season due to an undisclosed injury — didn’t look like a player playing catch-up in his debut.

Slotted between a pair of hefty wingers in Trent Frederic and Justin Brazeau, Poitras drove play in a matinee game where Boston’s big guns up front labored during both 5-on-5 play and on the man advantage (0-for-5).

In the 7:03 of 5-on-5 ice time that the Frederic-Poitras-Brazeau line logged on Saturday, the Bruins held a 4-1 edge in shots on goal.

Poitras’s playmaking poise was put on display last season when he exceeded expectations as a rookie. But the expected growth as far as his strength on the puck and increased stamina were noticeable in his season debut against Los Angeles.

“He’s a heck of a player. Obviously, hadn’t played a meaningful game for a long time, so we were all happy to see him come back. It’s never easy to be injured, so we’re happy he’s back,” Pastrnak said of Poitras. “It’s incredible how strong on the puck he is for his size.

“He’s very good and impressive with it. So that’s probably one thing that sticks out the most. And I would say, hard to take a puck away from him, and it’s impressive for a player with his size.”

Through just 34 games in the NHL ranks, Poitras has carved out a reputation already for defying the odds. After surprisingly many by cracking Boston’s roster out of camp in 2023-24, the 20-year-old pivot seemingly had another uphill climb in front of him this fall.

After undergoing major shoulder surgery in February 2024 that cut that rookie year short, Poitras had to build his game back up during development camp and preseason play.

It wasn’t a stretch to imagine a scenario where Boston started Poitras in Providence to begin the year – giving him ample time to rebuild his confidence and earn top-line minutes right out of the gate.

Poitras didn’t give them that option.

Even with a brief setback due to that preseason injury, Poitras continued to pop during his reps in September — warranting a spot on the NHL roster for the second straight year.

And it hasn’t taken him long to validate why he could be such a key cog for this Bruins roster – both this year and especially beyond.

“Offensively, it makes us so much more dynamic — to have three lines that can go out there. Really, having our fourth line that can score, we have four lines that can overwhelm you,” Montgomery said. “It gets you excited.

“It’s still early in the year. We haven’t played a full 60 minute game yet as a team … But there’s a lot of growth that’s within that lineup, and that’s what excites you about what we can be.”

Conor Ryan is a staff writer covering the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox for Boston.com, a role he has held since 2023.