Hall's debut goes by without much fanfare

Apr. 14—Taylor Hall could wind up being a great fit for the Boston Bruins, riding shotgun on David Krejci's left side and helping give the team a desperately needed jolt of offensive punch on the second line.

So let's not rush to judgement after just one game with the former No. 1 pick in Black-and-Gold.

Hall was mostly unspectacular and looked rusty in the Bruins' 3-2 shootout win over his former team, the Buffalo Sabres, Tuesday night at TD Garden.

Playing 16 minutes and 43 seconds in his Boston debut, Hall had three shots on net, including one in overtime, and also saw power play time while skating primarily with Krejci and right wing Jake DeBrusk.

Having not played in the previous 10 days and driving from Buffalo to Boston to be with his new team on Monday, Hall at times looked both hesitant and a half-step behind the action.

One such example came on a second period play, when he received the puck in the top of the left circle but took too long in making something happen and had his stick lifted, and the puck cleared, by former Sabres teammate Kyle Okposo.

In his postgame Zoom press conference, Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy said based on first impression that Hall backchecked well, looked good off the rush and found the open man when he had the puck, among other things.

Curtis Lazar, who came over in the trade with Hall from Buffalo, was a game time decision to play coming off of a recent injury. But he seemed to acclimate more to his new organization despite finishing minus-1 and taking a high sticking penalty late in the third with the game tied, 2-2. He skated fourth line pivot between wingers Sean Kuraly and Chris Wagner.

The team's third trade deadline acquisition, defenseman Mike Reilly, looked good playing on the second pairing with Kevan Miller. The left-shot blueliner tied Jeremy Lauzon for second-most ice time (22:17) among Bruin defenders on this night and had a team-high five shots while blocking a Buffalo blast.

Hall, Lazar, Reilly and their new teammates remained in fourth place in the Eastern Division standings (50 points) with the win, four points clear of the fifth place Rangers, with whom they hold two games in hand. Boston will host the second place Islanders Thursday and Friday night, then take on first place Washington Sunday at noon on home ice.

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Phil Stacey, the Executive Sports Editor of The Salem News, covers the Boston Bruins for CNHI Sports Boston. Contact him at pstacey@salemnews.com, and follow him on Twitter @PhilStacey_SN