DALLAS - Brett Ritchie did not wake up on Thursday morning with a guarantee that he would be in the lineup for the Bruins' Opening Night tilt against the Dallas Stars.
With David Krejci's lingering lower-body injury trending in the right direction, Ritchie was uncertain if he'd get a chance to face off against the team with which he had spent his first seven professional seasons.
Nevertheless, the 26-year-old winger prepared as if he would be making his Bruins debut. So, when word came down following pregame skate that Krejci would be unable to go, Ritchie was more than ready to slide into the lineup.
And he wasted no time in showing it.
Ritchie converted on his first shot in Black & Gold, opening the scoring just over a minute into the opener to set the tone in Boston's 2-1 victory over the Stars at American Airlines Center.
Ritchie's Debut Tally Helps B's to Opening Night Win
Winger notched game's first goal in Boston's 2-1 victory over the Dallas Stars