Anthony Richard Set To Make Bruins Debut

As Anthony Richard began to find his game with the Providence Bruins in the AHL this season, he couldn’t help but wonder if he would finally get the call back to the show and play for the Boston Bruins.

“I’m very excited,” a smiling Richard told reporters after practice on Friday. “Last year, I played before Christmas in Montreal, so it’s easier to get into the NHL game shape and know how fast it is. I was waiting for that chance for a while. I’ve been playing good down there; we have a good team. It’s been really nice in Providence, I really enjoy my time there…but once you start playing good and feeling good about your game, and you see guys get hurt, or sick, or out of the lineup, you’re starting to think about having those looks in the NHL.

I’ve been thinking about it for the last month or so when my game was really good. Like I told Monty and management, I was waiting for my chance. I’m really happy to be here, and I’ll try to do my best. I watch pretty much all of their games, and they’re a fun team to watch. I’m excited to play with these guys.”

Thanks to 19 goals and 19 assists in 41 games with the Providence Bruins and Boston Bruins rookie center Matthew Poitras’ season ending due to shoulder surgery on Wednesday, Anthony Richard will make his Bruins debut against the Washington Capitals in a 3:30 p.m. ET matinee on Saturday at TD Garden.

While Richard, 27, has impressed offensively, after a thorough review of Richard’s game, his speed is what Boston Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery is looking forward to seeing firsthand on Saturday.

“Speed,” Montgomery replied when asked what intrigues him about Richard’s game. “We’d like to create more anxiety on other teams, and there’s different ways to do that – speed is one of them. That really makes people back off or make plays quicker than they want to. Physicality is another one. He’s had a really good year in Providence and is just shy of 40 points, almost a point a game. But more importantly, he’s got five shorthanded goals. We’ll slowly hope to break him into penalty kill situations.

But his tenacity on pucks, his forechecking ability, and his speed to take people wide, to take it to the net and finish at the net, is something that we’re looking forward to seeing how this translates for us.”