Bruce Cassidy was making his much awaited return to Boston in December 2022, his final coaching gig at TD Garden, having been sacked as the head coach of the Bruins in June of the same year.
After leaving Boston, Cassidy didn’t take long to locate another employment. He was appointed as head coach by the Vegas Golden Knights, and in his first season, he helped the team win its first Stanley Cup.
On Thursday night, the Golden Knights will be back in town to play the Bruins. The encounter from last year was really emotional. The atmosphere of this year is a bit more muted. That is the result of winning a Stanley Cup ring.
“I believe that last year was a time of uncertainty; you never knew what would happen—you came back here and were fired. You never know when you’re going to receive a warm reception or heckled out of the building,” Cassidy said to reporters on Thursday morning.
Anyway, that is resolved now. It’s also pleasant to return with a large, attractive, sparkling ring on your finger; it makes for a happy visit.
🎥 Cassidy on Eichel: I think he’ll get even closer once he has to absorb some contact at some time.
Cassidy was an Ottawa native who was a lifelong Bruins supporter. He worked with the team for 14 years, the last six of those as Boston’s head coach. He contributed to the Bruins’ run to the 2019 Stanley Cup Final, which ended in a home-ice Game 7 loss to the St. Louis Blues. Cassidy never came this close to winning a championship with the Bruins.
Cassidy remarked, “Well, believe me, more than anybody, I wanted to win one here.” Did not turn out well. That is our ultimate objective. Every coach wants to win, in my opinion. So, being able to finish it is just a pleasant experience.”
With a 33-19-7 record going into Thursday, the Golden Knights are in second place in the Pacific Division, which is very impressive considering that some of its best players, like Mark Stone and Jack Eichel, have missed all of the team’s games due to injury.
Islanders defeat Red Wings 5-3 after pulling ahead late in the third period.
DETROIT (AP) — The Islanders defeated the Detroit Red Wings 5-3 on Thursday night, snapping their six-game winning run. Brock Nelson scored twice and Mathew Barzal scored a game-winning goal with 6:02 remaining in the third period.
Barzal banked a shot into the net after putting it behind goalie Alex Lyon. Later in the third, Patrick Kane had a chance to tie the Red Wings for the third time, but his shot went wide of the open net.
Pierre Engvall capitalized on Detroit’s decision to withdraw Lyon in order to add an extra skater, giving the Islanders their first goal of the season and securing the win in the closing minute.
Nelson’s second goal early in the third period broke a tie that had been set by Casey Cizikas’ goal in the first. For the Islanders, Ilya Sorokin ended with 23 saves.
Olli Maatta scored two goals, the first on a one-timer early in the second half, matching a career high. Ten seconds into the third, with a deft wrist shot, Kane leveled the score at two.
Nelson took advantage of a power play early in the third period for the Islanders, putting a wrist shot over Lyon’s left shoulder and glove to give them a lead once again and scoring his team-high 27 goals.
Midway through the third, Maatta scored again to knot the game at three.
The Red Wings fell for the first time in more than two weeks as Lyon saved 22 shots.
For the first time in over five years, Detroit has won six games in a row, increasing the team’s prospects of qualifying for the postseason for the first time since 2016 and securing the first of two wild-card places in the Eastern Conference.
The Islanders are 6-5-3 since dismissing Lane Lambert and signing Patrick Roy, and they are one of four teams in the wild-card rankings that are within 10 points of Detroit and Tampa Bay. The other three teams are New Jersey, Washington, and Pittsburgh.
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