Ahcan's First NHL Goal Helps Bruins to Victory Over Chicago

BOSTON - Jack Ahcan has played hockey long enough to know that there are plenty of highs that come along with the lows. So, after the young blue liner found himself on the ice for Chicago's first two goals on Thursday night, he shifted his focus toward redemption.
"I've been playing hockey for quite a bit, all my life," said Ahcan. "You never want to be on the ice for an opponent's goal, but it kind of does give you that confidence to step up your game now. It kind of lights a fire underneath you."

Ahcan didn't have to wait long to heat up. Some seven minutes after the Blackhawks' second goal, the 24-year-old got one back when he forced a turnover in the slot and flipped a wrister off the post and in for his first career goal and point.
The tally tied the game midway through the second period and helped set the tone for Boston's 4-3 win at TD Garden as David Pastrnak struck for his second of the game with just 17 seconds remaining to lift the B's to victory.
"It ended up working for me, and put a spark on me, and I put one in the net," said Ahcan, who was signed by the B's to a two-year, entry-level contract last July. "It was on the power play, but still, it was nice to get that going."

Ahcan, playing in just his eighth career NHL game, notched the tally with 8:03 remaining in the second and Boston's power play dwindling away. The former college free agent sneaked down the wall and eventually charged into the slot, picking the pocket of Chicago's Riley Stillman. He then collected the puck and fired a wrister that rang off the left post and by Chicago goalie Kevin Lankinen to tie the game, 2-2.
"It was down in a power play, kind of the dying seconds," said Ahcan, who added that he'll be gifting his first-goal puck to his mom, Michelle. "I was down in the corner trying to keep the puck alive, put it back to [Brad Marchand] and it just bounced, and I put one hard over the defenseman's stick, and got it into the slot, ripped it, and ended up hitting the post, and going in. Nice first one to get."
It created a moment that Ahcan has pictured in his head a thousand times, though he admitted that it never quite looked the way it actually played out on Thursday night.
"I didn't really know what to do with my hands or my body. I just kind of got off the ice and sat on the bench and things started to come back," said Ahcan. "You work so hard to get here, and I dreamed about scoring a goal in the NHL…my mind was racing, and I had to dial it back in, cause there's still a lot of game left, and I think I did a good job.
"It is just such a great feeling. You do picture it in your head over and over before it actually happens. I didn't think once it would be like that, but it was a pretty awesome goal, and nice to get out of the way."

Incidentally, if everything went according to plan, Ahcan would not have even been in the lineup against the Blackhawks. Following Wednesday's practice at Warrior Ice Arena, Matt Grzelcyk appeared poised to return to the lineup following a brief one-game absence with an upper-body injury. But the blue liner woke up under the weather on Thursday and was forced to miss his second straight game, opening the door for Ahcan to remain in his place alongside Brandon Carlo on Boston's second pairing.
That led to a conversation with coach Bruce Cassidy during Thursday's morning skate that focused on Ahcan allowing his offensive instincts to dictate his play.
"It's pretty much all about getting my feet moving when I have the puck. It's kind of the biggest difference I noticed," said Ahcan. "He had a little message for me this morning during morning skate, and I think I did what he asked, and ended up feeling good tonight."
Cassidy likened Ahcan's transition to the NHL to that of Grzelcyk's, saying that the Charlestown native - who like Ahcan stands at 5-foot-9 - was also a bit hesitant at first to completely unleash his offensive instincts.
"He's got to play to his strength, and when he has the puck on his stick, he has to be moving and making plays that result in opportunities at the net, and I thought he started doing a better job of that in the second period - scored a goal, made a play down low to Marchy," said Cassidy, who also compared Ahcan to fellow 5-foot-9 defenseman and former Bruin Torey Krug.
"Transition game, every touch, he has to value. It's like when Grizz came up. You're bread and butter is going to be passing the puck up the ice and giving the forwards some transition opportunities in those areas, and he has to make sure he is very clean with those.
"Otherwise, if he's not, then most teams are going to prefer a bigger body to do the other things, so that's where he has to be good, and we'll keep working with him on it."

Despite Ahcan being on the ice for two goals against, Cassidy thought the former St. Cloud State standout, for the most part, acquitted himself well at the defensive end of the ice.
"On the defensive side of things, it's just angles…like the goal, the second one, I thought he did a not bad job," said Cassidy. "He keeps the guy low and outside on his backhand, the guy happens to wrap it around. I don't think that's a poor play by the D. Where it got muddled is when he went to cut him off at the far post, I think his stick got stuck in [Jeremy] Swayman, so you've got to clean that up.
"But how he played the play was fine, and that's what he has to do if he can't end it in the corner. I think there's some learning curves in that part of it."
On Chicago's first goal of the night, Ahcan had another "welcome to the NHL" type of moment when Patrick Kane and three of his Blackhawks teammates were bearing down upon him with a 4-on-1. Ahcan, who grew up cheering for the Minnesota Wild, was also a "huge fan" of Kane and received the three-time Stanley Cup champion's jersey as a Christmas present when he was a kid.
"First thing I'm thinking is, 'Oh here we go, Kane, watched him all my life,'" Ahcan said with a smirk. "I knew he was gonna pass. I tried to kind of bait him into passing it a little bit earlier. He's such a good player, I probably should've just kept my stick in the lane. It's a 4-on-1, but I probably should've kept my stick in the middle. It's definitely a good learning experience and next time I have a 4-on-1 I think I'm just gonna keep my stick in the middle."
Fortunately, as it turned out, the dream of playing against Kane wasn't the only one to come true for Ahcan on this night.
"I don't want all the attention to be on me. But you do have to kind of soak it in, first NHL goal," said Ahcan. "It was kind of a weird thing, cause it's like, 'Let's get back to this game and win this game.' "But everybody was so happy for me, and they've all been awesome to me lately and actually since I've signed.
"It was just kind of overwhelming. Like I said, it was pretty sweet."