Matt Bartkowski doesn’t miss beat
Tuesday, November 12, 2013
By:
Steve Conroy,
Bruins Notebook
Matt Bartkowski had been a healthy scratch nine out of the last 10 games, but if there was any rust accumulating, he hid it well.
The 25-year-old defenseman picked up an assist and finished plus-2 in the Bruins’ 3-0 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning yesterday at the Garden.
“I felt fine. Just a little, I don’t know, nervous at times or getting back into the flow of it, but I felt fine,” said Bartkowski, who saw 16:24 of ice time in the matinee.
For the second straight meeting, the B’s shut out the Lightning, and
Tuukka Rask has stopped 84-of-85 shots from the Bolts in three victories this season.
Yesterday was one of the Bruins’ better defensive efforts of the season.
“It really all had to do with us and how we managed the puck and our positioning defensively. They’re fast enough that if we get out of position they’re going to take advantage of it,” said Bartkowski. “And we saw that a few times throughout the game, but Tuukka cleaned it up. So we just really focused on playing well in position and managing the puck.”
Bruins coach
Claude Julien liked what he saw.
“I thought he played well tonight for his first game back in a long time,” said Julien. “So I don’t know if it’s an adjustment more than he’s practiced hard and he’s worked hard. And because of that he’s able to step into our lineup and play the way he did tonight.”
cont...
