Boston Bruins
“I think that was the goal, bringing this guy in today to drive Elias and Geeks so you can push them a little bit more forward.”
Lukas Reichel scored two points in his Bruins debut on Thursday. AP Photo/Charles Krupa
March 20, 2026 | 7:24 AM
3 minutes to read
Lukas Reichel is no stranger to the noise permeating from the TD Garden seats.
Except on Thursday night, those cheers erupted for him.
“I think the crowd is always amazing, even when I played here against the Bruins,” the 23-year-old winger said. “And feels even better if you play for them.”
Reichel made a strong impression in his first game in a black-and-gold sweater — lighting the lamp in the second period and adding an assist as part of a 6-1 victory over the Winnipeg Jets.
For Marco Sturm and the Bruins, a performance like Thursday was what they envisioned when they plucked the 2020 first-round pick from the Canucks right before the NHL’s trade deadline.
“I think as a player, and it happened to me here too — as soon as you go to a new team, I think it just helps overall with your confidence when you score and have success on the first night,” Sturm said. “It just helps you tomorrow, helps you the next day, helps you the next game. It was good today, and hopefully this helps.”
The Bruins could use all the help they can get, given the lack of breathing room in the Eastern Conference standings.
Boston remains in the first wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference with 84 points after Thursday’s win. But they are tied with both the Red Wings (currently the second wild-card club) and Canadiens (third in the Atlantic) in terms of total points.
The New York Islanders — now outside the playoff picture — sit just behind those three clubs with 83 points on the year.
The Bruins need to keep banking points at a steady clip down the stretch run of the regular season.
Getting more production from a stalled-out third line would be a welcome development for Sturm’s club.
Even if Reichel has yet to carve out a consistent role in the NHL after failed stints with both Chicago and Vancouver, his speed and skill intrigued a Bruins team on the prowl for a low-risk, high-reward target at the deadline.
Boston only gave up a 2026 sixth-round pick to acquire him from the Canucks. After just three games of seasoning in Providence, he earned the call-up to Boston before Thursday’s game against Winnipeg.
His task? Sparking a line with a pair of slumping skaters in Morgan Geekie and Elias Lindholm — a duo who had zero 5-on-5 points generated over their previous 11 games.
Not exactly the easiest ask for a younger forward trying to find his own game in his debut with an Original Six franchise. But Sturm was impressed with what Reichel brought to the table against the Jets.
“Offensively, yeah, he drives them,” Sturm said of Reichel’s impact next to Geekie and Lindolm. “I think that was the goal, bringing this guy in today to drive Elias and Geeks so you can push them a little bit more forward.”
Neither Lindholm and Geekie lit the lamp on Thursday. But that forward trio generated a few quality chances, headlined by Reichel’s tally at 6:23 in the second.
A fortuitous bounce off the glass put Jets netminder Connor Hellebuyck out of position as he tried to corral the biscuit behind Winnipeg’s net.
As the puck skittered out front, Reichel turned on the afterburners — beating Hellebuyck to the loose offering and knocking it into twine for his first goal with Boston.
Boston didn’t cash in on its lone power-play bid on the night, but Reichel and the Bruins’ second unit did manufacture a few Grade-A looks — with the new Bruins winger setting up a few quality chances as a playmaker from the half-wall.
“He was awesome tonight,” Viktor Arvidsson said. “He made plays and looked really confident with the puck.
Reichel added a helper in garbage time while pouncing on a puck amid a board battle — with Geekie recording his first 5-on-5 point since the Olympic break via the primary helper on Jonathan Aspirot’s tally.
The Bruins aren’t asking for Reichel to be a top-line force for this club. But with points at a premium, a skilled forward like him might be just what Boston needs to give this forward corps a jolt.
“Just trying to keep it simple,” Reichel said of his approach. “Play my game. If I have a play, make it. And if not, then try to keep it simple and try to do what they want me to do.”
So far, so good.
Conor Ryan is a staff writer covering the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox for Boston.com, a role he has held since 2023.
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