A closer look at how the newest Bruins performed in their Boston debuts

Making seven-hour treks from Buffalo and Ottawa to avoid quarantines, the Bruins’ deadline pickups — forwards Taylor Hall and Curtis Lazar, and defenseman Mike Reilly — didn’t waste a second to jump right into the mix for the Bruins.

On the ice for the Bruins’ Tuesday night meeting with the Sabres (Hall and Reilly actually cracked the team’s starting lineup), the Bruins actually got solid contributions from all three in a 3-2 shootout win at TD Garden.

“Three guys that helped us win a hockey game,” Cassidy said of the additions. “That’s their job. And we’ll build them in as we go and see how they best fit. But first impressions were good.”

It was enough for Cassidy to conclude that he’s likely to keep all three in the lineup and in their same spot when the Bruins return to game action on Thursday night.

And here’s why that’ll likely remain the case for Cassidy’s squad…

• Taylor Hall

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  Given the start in his Bruins debut, it was a bit of a rough start for the 29-year-old. He made an egregious turnover on one of his first shifts in the first period, and iced the puck just moments after that turnover. And in the second period, Hall was set up for two strong power-play looks that fell by the wayside on some noticeable hesitations to fire the puck on goal.
  
  But that's not to say it was all bad for Hall.
  
  Hall was as advertised in the transition game, and appeared to feed Craig Smith on Boston's second goal of the evening. (The scorers ruled that it was an unassisted goal, however, as the puck bounced between a couple Sabre skaters before it ended up on Smith's stick and into the back of the Buffalo net.) Hall also had a strong forechecking shift early in the second period, using his strides and reach to make an otherwise pleasant defensive zone exit wildly difficult for Buffalo.
  
  There was one sequence I especially liked from Hall in the third period. After Hall was unable to get to a centering pass from David Pastrnak in time for what would've been a high-danger offensive chance on the Buffalo net, Hall got on his horse and back into the defensive zone, where he shut down the Sabres' hopes for an extended shift in the attacking zone with a recovery to Jeremy Swayman's left. Hall remained on the ice as the Bruins carried the play the other way, too, and took a loose puck and fed Jarred Tinordi a great dish for a Tinordi all-alone blast that went wide of the net.
  
  And though he was unable to find the back of the net on a two-on-one in the three-on-three overtime, Hall truly saved his best for last, with a break-up on what would've been a fantastic last-second opportunity for Casey Mittelstadt.
  
  "He certainly creates in space," Cassidy said of Hall. "I thought he did a good job off the rush, finding the open guy over time, obviously look dangerous. Had a nice backcheck as well. Good speed."
  
  Overall, Hall finished his debut with three shots and one hit in 16:43 of ice time.

• Curtis Lazar

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  Hall and Reilly were of obvious interest and need, but I was legitimately curious to see how Curtis Lazar, acquired from Buffalo in the Hall trade, would fit in with the Bruins. Looking at his Buffalo stats, it seemed obvious that the 26-year-old stuffed the hell out of the game final every night, and that he'd bring a dose of energy to the Bruins' at-times-stagnant fourth line. Oh, and he also sounded like the exact kind of player that the Bruins want in such a role.
  
  That was certainly the case on Tuesday night, too, with Lazar in the middle of Sean Kuraly and Chris Wagner.
  
  On the ice for 10:46 of five-on-five action Tuesday night, the Kuraly-Lazar-Wagner line had a 64.7 Corsi-For percentage, and outshot the Sabres 5-to-3 at five-on-five. The line was also on the ice for four high-danger scoring chances, and allowed just one at the other end. All while taking six of their nine faceoffs in the defensive zone.
  
  "I thought Lazar does a good job presenting himself, moves, dishes the puck out of the middle, did a nice job there," Cassidy said. "Unfortunate on the the tying goal; our fourth line again gets victimized and in that one I thought he did his job, got into the shooting lane. That was some poor wall work by his left winger and then a breakdown that he tried to cover up for."
  
  This felt like one of the fourth line's strongest possession games of the season, and their chances were from the sweet spots of the rink. Lazar was a definite factor in all of that, too, with plays and stick-work to keep pucks alive in the Buffalo end.
  
  "I thought [Lazar] did a nice job offensively, too," Cassidy said. "Like they were cycling pucks, a little more of an O-zone possession line than we've seen. So that was good [and] encouraging."

• Mike Reilly

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  Imagine this: Another left-shot defenseman who can land pucks on net in the offensive zone.
  
  I was stunned when I learned that players are actually allowed to do this. I was beginning to think the NHL outlawed this practice, for whatever reason. But Reilly was able to do just that, and finished with a staggering five shots on goal (on six attempts) in 22:17 of action on Tuesday night. (For the sake of comparison, Jakub Zboril, the man Reilly replaced in the Boston lineup, had just four shots in his last six games before sitting out last night's contest as a healthy scratch.)
  
  "Reilly gets a shot through, works to get it through, shoots for sticks," Cassidy, who paired Reilly with Kevan Miller, said. "On the breakout, I thought he had good composure, makes good decisions."
  
  Reilly's senses are strong, too. He just seems like a more complete player in all three zones, and there simply seemed to be more stability with him no matter the situation. That's exactly why the Bruins made the move for him in the first place.

Ty Anderson is a writer and columnist for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Yell at him on Twitter: @_TyAnderson.