Claude Julien's Boston Bruins have had a tough past few seasons. Going 42-31-9 last season and missing the playoffs for the second year in a row, Bruins fans have been waiting for what feels like decades for their big bad Bs to return to the ice.

This season; however, brings hope to Boston hockey fans everywhere.

In their 2016-2017 season opener against the Columbus Blue Jackets Oct. 13, the Bruins showed the type of old-school resilience that fans have been waiting for.

The first period did not offer much confidence for Bruins Goaltender Tuukka Rask, letting up a goal on the very first shot taken on him in the regular season. He and the Bruins defense let up another goal to go down 2-0 in the first period.

David Pastrnak cut the deficit in half early in the second and David Bakes put away two to tie it up.

Brad Marchand had the go-ahead goal in the third, followed by another for him and one more for Pastrnak for an end result of 6-3.

Those five unanswered goals late in the game really represent what the Bruins stand for. The Bs have always been a third-period team, coming from behind and having the rigorous capacity to pull ahead towards the end of the game. This is exactly what the people of Boston really identify with and proudly root for.

Plus, four guys made their first appearance on the ice in this season's opener. Having young guys on the team provide new and exciting energy on the ice. Putting them alongside guys like Krejci, Marchand and Chara gives them an extra spark they need to compete and allows the rookies to learn from guys who know the game, which is something fans and players alike can look forward to.

Whether or not you're a fan who thinks the first game sets the tone for the rest of the season, at least this season opener had better results than last year's 6-0 loss to Winnipeg.