BRUINS NOTEBOOK: Former Bruin Frank Vatrano feels at home in Florida

Frank Vatrano, traded by the B’s a year ago, has rediscovered his scoring tough and rounded out his game as a member of the Panthers.

BOSTON -- It’s a little bit like “It takes one to know one,” but maybe more like “If you want to stop a shot, you have to hire a shooter.”

Nobody who has seen him play as a professional can be surprised that Frank Vatrano has reached the 20-goal mark this season, his long-awaited first full NHL campaign.

Seeing that the former Bruin has blocked more shots than any Panthers forward, however, takes a little processing.

“It’s something I like doing now,” said Vatrano, who spent parts of three seasons with the B’s before he was traded for a third-round draft pick (Jakub Lauko) just before last season’s NHL deadline. “It’s always a good feeling to get in front of a puck, to make a defensive play.”

Making defensive plays was rarely part of Vatrano’s repertoire with the Bruins, which was among the reasons he struggled to stick in the NHL in 2015-16 (39 games), ’16-17 (44) and last season, when he played in only 25 games (two goals) before the trade. Vatrano scored five goals and eight points in 16 games for his new team, but knew he still had work to do if he wanted to stick in Florida.

“Obviously, defense is something you need to be good at if you’re not a superstar in this league,” said Vatrano, who turns 25 next week. “You need to be good defensively, and you need to be reliable. ... It’s something I always wanted to (improve), and I think the more comfortable I’ve been with the (Panthers), the more -- I wouldn’t say ‘leash’ -- but the more comfortable the coaching staff got with me, I knew I was going to get more playing time if I blocked shots and if I was reliable in my defensive zone.”

Panthers coach Bob Boughner didn’t have much trouble convincing Vatrano that he wasn’t a finished product.

“We’ve worked with him a lot,” Boughner said. “We talked about ‘If you want to play, and play for a long time, you’ve got to be good away from the puck, and you’ve got to be a two-way guy.’”

Vatrano, who played under Bruce Cassidy at AHL Providence and then in the NHL, has “nothing but good things to say about Boston. … They gave me the chance to play in the NHL. The management, the coaching staff from Claude (Julien) to (Cassidy), they gave me the opportunity to play, and I’m grateful for that.”

Vatrano is not at all unhappy that he landed in Florida, though, and the Panthers seem happy to have him: After playing this season on a one-year, $925,000 contract (it replaced the three-year entry level deal he brought with him from Boston, which expired after last season), Vatrano recently signed a three-year extension that will pay a little more than $2.5 million annually, beginning next season.

“When you sign a decent contract for a few years that’s not your entry level, you feel like you’re a big part of the team, that you’re a piece that they want going forward,” Vatrano said.

“I think it was obviously mutual feelings that I needed a change of scenery. It’s been great since I’ve been in Florida. I feel comfortable here, and I feel like I’m part of this team.”

Around the boards: The Bruins recalled winger Karson Kuhlman from AHL Providence on an emergency basis to replace Jake DeBrusk, who was a late scratch with a suspected foot injury. Kuhlman, who played the first four games of his NHL career (1-1--2) on last month’s five-game Western Conference road trip, started Thursday's game with the Panthers on a line with David Krejci and Peter Cehlarik …Bruins linemates Brad Marchand (9-15--24) and Patrice Bergeron (7-11--18) had each scored at least one point in 13 consecutive home games entering Thursday night. … The Bruins, who had no spare forwards, recalled Karson Kuhlman from AHL Providence on an emergency basis before Thursday’s game. ... Bruins defenseman John Moore played his 499th career game. … Panthers defenseman and Milton native Keith Yandle played his 782nd consecutive game, the fifth-longest streak in NHL history. Yandle, who has passed 50 points for the fourth time in his career (9-43--52 entering Thursday’s game), is approaching the 10-year anniversary of the streak’s start -- March 26, 2009, when he was a member of the Coyotes. Yandle, 32, needs eight games to reach 900 for his career.