“We were 15 games in and time to move it around, and I really felt Steve has been a real consistent, good, hard worker,’’ said the Bruins coach. “He’s exemplified the player deserving of that for the next 15 games.’’
While acknowledging surprise at the move, Begin brushed off the captaincy.
“Just a letter,’’ Begin said. “Just a stain.’’
Yet in those funny twists that seem to happen at the rink, the player who assumed the “A’’ assisted on the winning goal in the Bruins’ 4-2 win over Buffalo last night before 17,565 at TD Garden. And Sturm, the snakebitten Bruin who had gone 12 straight games without a goal, netted a momentum-shifting strike in the second - the Sabres, down by two, were creating havoc around Tuukka Rask - on the night he relinquished the letter’s stewardship.
Not to be overlooked in the win (the team’s first since last Saturday) was the emotional engagement that saw Shawn Thornton throw down twice, Mark Stuart dispatch Jochen Hecht in the third during a postwhistle scrum, and had the Bruins ratcheting up the surliness factor.
“We just showed more emotion,’’ said Julien. “It wasn’t about going out there and scrapping. It’s when we show emotion that we’re a better team.’’
Prior to the winning goal, Begin and Bitz threw a double-barreled forecheck behind the Buffalo net on Andrej Sekera, who had to get rid of the puck before being squashed. The puck went to Jason Pominville, who got a faceful of Thornton in the corner. Because of the pressure, Pominville coughed up the puck to Begin in the slot. The center fed Bitz in front, and the right wing dangled around Jhonas Enroth, who was making his NHL debut, and tucked the puck in at 1:22 to give his team a 3-0 lead.
After Derek Roy made it 3-1 and the Sabres continued to pour pucks on Rask (28 saves), Sturm put the game out of reach.
