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    • Mark Kastelic ‘game changer’ for Bruins with two fights against Utah
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    Mark Kastelic ‘game changer’ for Bruins with two fights against Utah

    Pabio Posted on


    Bruins

    “Those are the guys that really carry the team through the toughest times and into the playoffs.”

    Mark Kastelic ‘game changer’ for Bruins with two fights against Utah

    Mark Kastelic dropped the gloves twice on Thursday. John Tumacki/Globe Staff

    If the 2024-25 Bruins want to dig themselves out of an early-season slump, it will likely fall to star players like David Pastrnak, Jeremy Swayman, Charlie McAvoy and Brad Marchand to lead the charge.

    But on Thursday night, Marchand was quick to credit fourth-line forward Mark Kastelic – who has played just 20 games in a Bruins sweater and with 32 career points on his NHL record – as the one who dragged a desperate team into combat. against Utah.

    Kastelic may have failed to factor into the scoresheet in Boston’s 1-0 win 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 game at TD Garden.

    “Huge. That emotion, that energy and that physicality that he can bring. He changed the course of the game,” Marchand said of Kastelic. “We feel emotionally engaged, and we need that throughout. the year. Guys like him, you never really understand how valuable they are. They’re the guys that really carry the team through the toughest times and into the playoffs.

    “You always see it – the deep guys and those emotional guys. They have the ability to change the course of a game on a physical change or a tough change, and the way he plays the game the right way – he’s a guy we can look to as a leader and a guy we can emulate. with the way he plays with emotion 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 underperforming Bruins roster this fall. In addition to adding plenty of power further down the lineup (79 hits in 20 games), he had three goals and seven runs.

    But with the Bruins already needing a boost in Joe Sacco’s first game as Boston’s interim head coachKastelic shook up the Garden crowd after trading a few punches with Bortuzzo during his second shift of the evening.

    Bortuzzo jumped off the bench and immediately fought with Kastelic – the duo trading a few blows before falling to the frozen sheet. The second round went easily to Kastelic midway through the period – the 6-foot-4 forward dropping the Utah defender to the ice with a couple of big hooks.

    “Just playing hard,” Kastelic said of the reasoning behind his two fights 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 anyone push me around. So, I think that’s why you saw that.

    On a Bruins roster that entered the year expecting to be a grueling, punishing opponent, Kastelic at least did the job on the team’s controlling unit. After accumulating 63 penalty minutes last season in Ottawa, the Phoenix native has already spent 36 minutes in the trash with Boston.

    “I definitely feel like the guys in this room have a lot of respect for that, which I appreciate,” Kastelic said of dropping the gloves. And I just try to make an impact as best I can, in whatever way I can.

    “And I really feel the energy from the crowd and the fans, and I mean, we got the win, and that’s the most important thing. And I hope I fueled the guys a little bit, but at the same time, it’s kind of part of my game.”

    The Bruins still have a long way to go if they want to assuage doubts about the team’s ability to right the ship.

    But when Boston needed it most, its fourth-line center delivered at a critical moment in the team’s turbulent season.

    “I think everyone was just excited,” Kastelic said of a fresh start amid a coaching change this week. “I’m just trying to have a fresh approach. And I think that’s something: a little bit of energy was missing in the past.

    “So I think (I try) to make a conscious effort to bring more energy, positivity and motivation to every game, play with a lot of passion and be proud to wear the B.”

    Conor Ryan profile picture

    Conor Ryan is a writer covering the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots and Red Sox for Boston.com, a role he has held since 2023.

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