Jeremy Swayman’s heart was pounding out of his chest as he waited to jump out of the tunnel before the Bruins were introduced for their home opener — a 6-4 win over the archrival Canadiens — at TD Garden Thursday night.
With the crowd at full throat, Swayman was the first player out — he’s No. 1, after all — emerged through the piped-in fog, and tapped his heart with his glove, returning the love that was poured his way.
“It was pretty emotional, that warm welcome, and it just goes to show what kind of fan base we have here, knowing it’s more than just a player, it’s a human being that they care about, and I got pretty emotional finally stepping on that ice and hearing that roar,” said Swayman, less than week after inking his eight-year, $66 million contract. “It’s again, just an incredible amount of gratitude. I’m so grateful to be a part of this city, a part of this team, and it’s moments like that that make everything worth it.”
It wasn’t the heaviest of workloads for the All-Star goalie — just 20 saves — but he made his usual handful of dandies, especially when the Montreal express was buzzing late and threatening to erase a three-goal deficit in the third.
Swayman and his teammates hung on, though, getting a sterling, three-goal performance from the fourth line, including a pair from Mark Kastelic, and one from fellow newcomer Cole Koepke.
Kastelic and his wingers, Johnny Beecher and Koepke, were hard chargers all game, playing heavy on the forecheck and taking it hard to Canadiens goalie Cayden Primeau’s crease.
“It was just nice to see how hard they went to the net. Like the Koepke goal, that’s Johnny Beecher taking it hard to the net,” said Bruins coach Jim Montgomery. “And Kastelic’s first goal, Koepke originally took the puck hard and that created that offensive zone time. So, it’s something that we feel that with the speed and the size of our team that we want to do more of. It’s not easy to do, but that was a good sign of it.”
The Bruins erased two one-goal, first-period deficits and eventually found their groove, taking a 3-2 lead after one, a 5-2 lead after two, and then surviving some shaky moments in the third to even their record at 1-1.
It didn’t take long to get the blood pumping for the latest edition of this ancient and heated rivalry.
Just seconds in, Brad Marchand fired one into Primeau’s gut. As Kaiden Guhle tried to clear Morgan Geekie out of the blue paint, Geekie promptly planted the defenseman, and the crowd erupted.
Hockey was back in Boston.
The crowd got whipped up again when Hampus Lindholm appeared to give the Bruins a 1-0 lead with a rising blue-line bomb past Primeau.
The Canadiens challenged for goaltender interference, and they won their appeal as it was ruled Justin Brazeau breathed just a little too hard on the Montreal goalie, who did a good job selling it.
The Habs grabbed their first lead when Brendan Gallagher (who seems to score 75 percent of his goals against Boston) deflected Joel Armia’s blast past Swayman for a power-play strike.
The Bruins tied it on a power-play goal of their own, Charlie McAvoy sizzling a rising wrister over Primeau’s blocker. It was the first goal the Canadiens had surrendered this season after shutting out the Maple Leafs Wednesday.
An unmarked Cole Caufield banged one home at the crease to give the visitors a 2-1 lead.
Kastelic, who missed a shift earlier after blocking a shot, evened things.
Taking a nice feed from Nikita Zadorov at the point, Kastelic swirled around the top of the right circle and sent a seed over Primeau’s glove.
“I was just trying to get it to the net, and Z made a good play back to me and there was a lot of open space there, and I kind of just took it and luckily it went through and went in,” said Kastelic. “So, it was a great feeling.”
After killing a Trent Frederic hooking penalty, the Bruins struck again, taking their first lead of the game — and the season.
David Pastrnak shoved a short pass to Zadorov at the blue line and the big Russian fired it through the slot, where Elias Lindholm redirected it through Primeau’s five-hole for his first goal as a Bruin.
The Bruins popped home a quick pair in the final five minutes of the second to up their cushion to 5-2.
Pastrnak bagged his second of the season, fielding a feathery pass from behind the net from Pavel Zacha and snapping it over Primeau’s glove.
Koepke scored his first goal as a Bruin — and first in nearly two years — with a big assist to Beecher, who charged hard to the net. Primeau partially covered Beecher’s backhander, but Koepke drove in and shoved it all the way home for the big lead heading into the third.
“Primeau, I think, kicked it out just a little bit, and I just saw about half it, so I just went for it and then I saw it come through on the other side,” said Koepke.
Josh Anderson and Gallagher (again!) scored to cut it to 5-4, before Kastelic put the dagger in with four minutes left.
“I didn’t think our game management was exemplary in the third, but it’s hard to win in this league,” said Montgomery. “We got our first win; we just keep building now.”
Jim McBride can be reached at james.mcbride@globe.com. Follow him @globejimmcbride.