Brad Marchand credited Mark Kastelic for giving the Bruins the spark they needed off of two fights in Thursday's win over Utah.
www.boston.com
If the 2024-25 Bruins are going to claw themselves out of an early-season malaise, it’s likely going to fall on star players like David Pastrnak, Jeremy Swayman, Charlie McAvoy, and Brad Marchand to lead the charge.
But on Thursday night, Marchand was quick to give credit to fourth-line forward Mark Kastelic — he of just 20 games played in a Bruins sweater and with 32 career points on his NHL ledger — as the one who dragged a desperate roster into the fight against Utah.
Kastelic may not have factored into the scoresheet in Boston’s 1-0 victory over Utah. But the 25-year-old forward gave the Bruins the spark they needed by dropping the gloves twice with Robert Bortuzzo — setting the tone in a must-win matchup at TD Garden.
“Huge. That emotion and energy and physicality that he can bring. He changed the tide of the game,” Marchand said of Kastelic. “Got us feeling emotionally engaged, and you need that throughout the course of the year. Guys like him, you never really, truly understand how valuable they are. They’re the guys that really carry the team in the toughest times and in playoff time.
“You always see it — depth guys and those emotional guys. They have the ability to change the course of a game in a physical shift or a tough shift, and the way that he plays the game the right way — he’s a guy that we can look to be a leader and a guy that we can emulate with the way that he plays emotionally and wears his heart on his sleeve. He did a great job tonight.”
Kastelic has already been one of the few bright spots on an otherwise underachieving Bruins roster this fall. Along with adding plenty of thump further down the lineup (79 hits in 20 games), he’s chipped in with three goals and seven points.
But with the Bruins already in need of a lift
in Joe Sacco’s first game as Boston’s interim head coach, Kastelic provided a jolt to the Garden crowd after trading a few punches with Bortuzzo on just his second shift of the evening.
Bortuzzo jumped off the bench and immediately grappled with Kastelic — with the duo exchanging a few blows before dropping to the frozen sheet. The second round easily went to Kastelic in the middle period — with the 6-foot-4 forward dropping the Utah defenseman to the ice with a couple of heavy hooks.
“Just from playing hard,” Kastelic said of the reasoning behind his two scraps with the 6-foot-4 Bortuzzo. “The first one just happened and the second one was just being passionate about the game and not trying to let anybody push me around. So, I think that’s why you kind of saw that.”
“I definitely feel like the guys in this room respect that a lot, which I appreciate,” Kastelic said of dropping the gloves.” And I’m just trying to make an impact the best I can in any way, shape or form.
“And I definitely feel the energy from the crowd and the fans, and I mean, we got the win, and that’s the most important thing. And hopefully I kind of fueled the guys a little bit, but at the same time, it’s just kind of part of my game.”
The Bruins have a long way to go if they want to quiet doubts about the team’s ability to right the ship.
But when Boston needed it the most, its fourth-line center delivered at a critical juncture of the team’s up-and-down season.
“I think everybody was just excited,” Kastelic said of starting anew amid a coaching change this week. “Just trying to kind of have a clean-slate approach to it. And I think that’s something — a little bit of energy has been lacking in the past.
“So I think [I’m] trying to make a conscious effort to bring extra energy and positivity and motivation to each and every game, and play with a lot of passion and be proud to wear the B.”
