Matt Poitras Scores In 5-2 Canada Win

Boston Bruins center Matt Poitras scored a goal in his first game for Canada at the 2024 World Junior Championship on Tuesday in Gothenburg, Sweden.

After failing to score on a Grade A chance just under eight minutes into the game, Poitras found the back of the net with 2:26 left in regulation to put the Canadians up 4-1 in a game they eventually won 5-2 over Finland. Poitras just barely stayed onside, took a feed from Boston Bruins teammate Morgan Geekie’s younger brother, Conor (Arizona Coyotes, 11th overall pick, 2022), and buried into the empty net.

Matthew Poitras gets the empty netter for Canada after BARELY staying onside.#WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/TmBE8STcRn

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) December 26, 2023

Earlier in the game, Poitras took a beautiful feed from linemate Matthew Savoie (Buffalo Sabres, 9th overall pick, 2022) but was robbed point-blank by Finnish goalie Niklas Kokko (Seattle Kraken, 58th overall pick, 2022).

Niklas Kokko robs Matthew Poitras with the glove in close!#WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/AdR2BRzVE9

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) December 26, 2023

Poitras finished the game with a goal on three shots in 18:05 TOI, centering the second line for Canada between Savoie and Easton Cowan (Toronto Maple Leafs, 28th overall pick, 2023).

As suggested here on Dec. 16 that they do so the Boston Bruins decided to loan Poitras to Hockey Canada two days later.

“Well, we had a plan in place, as you might be aware in more recent weeks that we needed to back off a little bit what his load was. We didn’t map out a master plan on Day 1, because he was going through the process,” Boston Bruins general manager Don Sweeney said on Dec. 18. “Went through rookie camp, go all the way through training camp, playing a lot of games, and just keep meeting benchmarks for himself. And then jumping and playing the line’s share of all the games up until close to the 30 game mark. It’s a lot of hockey, and there’s a lot of pressure associated with that. I think what gets him a chance mentally and physically to have a little bit of a reset is to go and play against your peer group. Now again, it’s high expectations and high leverage pressured situations that he’s now been thrust into at the highest level you can possibly play at.

He should handle that well, he should take those things that happen in our locker room and impart them on his new teammates and lead from the front, and that’s what we’re hoping for. He’ll come back and reinsert himself with us. It’s a tough challenge to get right back on the road and go to the West Coast, so we have to monitor that when he gets back. But he’s coming back to join the Boston Bruins and continue along the path that he’s been, which has been outstanding so far.”

Canada will play three more games in the qualifying round. They play Latvia on Wednesday, Sweden on Friday and then Germany on New Year’s Eve. All tree games are at 1:30 p.m. ET.