Wagner honors late grandfather in Bruins win

BOSTON --As he pointed to the sky, Chris Wagner nodded his head, once, twice, a smile on his face. This goal would count. There was no question.

It was the second time in the game on Saturday that Wagner had celebrated, the second time he had put the puck in the net, the second time he had pointed at the sky, toward his maternal grandfather, Jim Phelan, who had died the day before. The second time he had honored a man who was a Boston Bruins fan long before his grandson joined them, who watched him play in the Winter Classic on Jan. 1, days before his death.
And though the first attempt at a score, at 20 seconds into the first period, was ruled no goal on the ice because of a goaltender interference call on linemate Sean Kuraly, there was no debating the second, at 10:10 of the first. Wagner wasn't going to be denied, not on a day on which the ice seemed to be tilted in his favor on just about every shift.
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He scored the Bruins' first goal of the game. And then he scored it again.
"This was a special game for me," Wagner said. "Maybe he was watching out for me, making the puck follow me around, who knows? But he was probably laughing after that first goal was disallowed."
A late goal by the Buffalo Sabres in the 2-1 win for the Bruins at TD Garden meant that Wagner's goal was not the game-winner. But that hardly mattered. Wagner had scored, getting the game puck and the charge of emotion and the first star of the game, a small antidote to a heavy heart.
This was a man who had driven Wagner to hockey games when he was little, when Wagner's parents were unavailable for shuttle duty.
"Went to all my games," the 27-year-old forward said. "Would watch all these games, even up until the Winter Classic the other day. It means a lot."
It had been a difficult few weeks for Wagner and his family, especially his mother, Cindy. Phelan, who was 81, lived in Norwood, the Boston suburb directly next to Walpole, where his grandson grew up. He was a Boston sports fan, the kind of guy who would watch any sport at any time -- "if we were playing, if we weren't," as Wagner put it.

When the puck swept past Sabres goalie Linus Ullmark, Wagner thought it unbelievable. His line is not the type that scores 20 seconds into games. It takes time to grind on other teams, to wear them down, to find its stride.
"That happened so quick," he said. "I was like, this is too good to be true. That shouldn't happen to our line."
But the chances kept coming. The line kept working.
He scored, again.
"I knew and then I saw his celebration on the replay," Kuraly said. "It kind of clicked with me that it was a special one for him. It's always good to see. I think we were feeding off him. He was playing inspired tonight, playing hard. I think it was a special night for him."
It had not been easy. The thoughts kept popping into Wagner's head on the bench, thoughts of his grandfather, emotions. Friday had been difficult, going home, "seeing my mom hurting," as he said. "That's probably the hardest part."
He couldn't dwell on those thoughts, though. There would be time for that after the game.
"I started getting so many chances, like, oh man, maybe this is the night, get a couple more," Wagner said.
Which is not a feeling that Wagner has often. His career high is seven goals, scored between the Anaheim Ducks and New York Islanders last season. But his line was, as coach Bruce Cassidy would later put it, "our best line. I don't think there's any doubt."
Heading into the game, Wagner had scored four goals in 38 games this season with the Bruins. Even though his play -- and that of his line -- had been trending upwards in games, the odds were not good that he would score. They were certainly not good that he would put the puck in the net twice, giving him a chance to twice point to the sky, to twice honor the grandfather he lost.
"Just giving a little tribute," Wagner said. "He would probably be a little upset that I even acknowledged him. He was a humble guy. I'm going to miss him a lot."