Sometimes a little puck luck is all you need to get going. Marchand's first goal skewed off the edge of his stick and didn't quite go where he intended, but it actually wound up fooling Martin as a result and in it went. After that Brad was up and about and shooting rockets and his hat-trick was well deserved. Bit of the old fire came back, hopefully we see more of it.
Heinen looks for all the world like a guy who has realized that he nearly found his career on very rocky ground, and is now more committed than ever to making himself a quality, consistent, go-to player in this league. Whenever I saw him play for the Penguins I never thought he looked like he was coasting, but true-enough to the common perception of him, he didn't particularly stand out either. Don't know if he got complacent or was simply unlucky to fall by the wayside with Pittsburgh and any other suitors, but he's been mostly excellent for the Bs. The talent's always been there - his hot start as a rookie in Boston where he got 1st line time shouldn't be forgotten - but that bit of extra grit, intent and composure is very evident now and makes him a more impactful player over and above just a responsible one. Good on him. Fingers crossing he can keep it up.
It took another 2 periods, but finally the Bruins worked out that Columbus really aren't that good and put them to the sword in the 3rd. Was as impressive as good chunks of what went before was lackadaisical. Better late than never. Still need to work on starting on time though, and plenty else besides. They should be able to get some good practice in before the next game on Thursday.