Six years ago, Ray Bourque’s hockey interests did not lie at Fenway Park. They were practically a continent away in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

The legendary defenseman has a lifelong Bruins membership card. As such, his presence was requested at Fenway for the Bruins-Flyers alumni game preceding the 2010 Winter Classic.

Bourque’s immediate family won out over his adopted one. So when his former teammates were taking the ice at Fenway, Bourque was watching youngest son Ryan playing for Team USA in the World Junior Championship. It turned out well for Ryan Bourque and his American teammates. Natick-born John Carlson scored a golden goal in overtime to give the Yanks a 6-5 win over the Canadians.

This year, Ray Bourque’s family calendar was not as busy. On Thursday at Gillette Stadium, No. 77 took his signature twirls around the ice as part of the Bruins-Canadiens alumni game, with old partner Don Sweeney on his left side. Naturally, Bourque scored the shootout winner in the Bruins’ 5-4 victory before 42,193 fans.

“I was thinking 20,000 or 30,000 would be fantastic,’’ Bourque said. “Being on the ice and looking up, seeing the amount of people, I thought we’d have just a little dent. But you saw a big crowd out there. The atmosphere was great.

“It just says so much about this town. I shouldn’t be surprised. It was a really fun game to be a part of, to play in, and to watch. To have it go down to a shootout like that was pretty neat.’’

Being a native of Montreal, playing outdoors was nothing new to the Hall of Famer.

“I just remember meeting up with my friends pretty much every day after school,’’ Bourque said during a question-and-answer session Wednesday with ex-teammate Andy Brickley. “We’d meet up at the park and we’d go play.

“Without even knowing it, we were working on our skills for about 2-3 hours every day, just having fun and playing with your buddies.’’

It doesn’t seem like long ago that Bourque was doing his thing on Causeway Street, be it drilling home slap shots, doing his pregame stickwork on his goaltender, or simply excelling in all areas of the game.

Bobby Orr revolutionized the game with his singular style of play. But of all the Black-and-Gold defensemen, nobody played the 200-foot game quite as stoutly as Bourque for as long as he did.

Yet the kid from Montreal who debuted in the NHL as a teenager is now a 55-year-old grandfather. He last graced an NHL rink in 2000-01, when he went out on top with Colorado. Sons Chris and Ryan, once undersized rink rats running around their dad’s dressing room, are professional hockey players.

The game Bourque mastered has evolved into something almost foreign. Just as he played the game differently than Larry Robinson, Serge Savard, and Guy Lapointe — his Montreal blue-line heroes — Bourque’s successors are doing different things.

Erik Karlsson and Duncan Keith venture deep into the offensive zone. The speed of the game demands defensemen to be smarter, better positioned, and quicker with their sticks than they were in Bourque’s day. For Bourque, physically overpowering an opponent was usually good enough.

Above all else, the mistakes Bourque and his defensive mates made usually turned into goals. In today’s game, goalies turn errors into ho-hum saves.

“The goalie position is played so much better than it was,’’ Bourque said. “The equipment, the size of the goalies, the way they play the position with the butterfly — you’ve almost got to make a perfect shot to score in today’s game.

“Thank God we didn’t have to do that when we played. You can’t score from the blue line now without it being a really bad goal.’’

Today’s goalies are working their magic even without some of the best assets from Bourque’s era. By the end, the hooking and holding and clutching had gotten so bad that neither time nor space was a commodity seen in abundance.

“Not that I ever did that,’’ Bourque said with a smile. “But today’s game offensively would have been a lot of fun with the rules. Defensively, it’s tougher to play because you’ve got to have perfect positioning. You’ve got to be a good skater.

“I think how it’s coached, technically everybody is asked to block shots, be in passing lanes, be responsible defensively. Not just do the job offensively, but pay attention to details. That wasn’t always the case when we played.’’

The game has changed. But it’s a good bet No. 77 would still find a way to be great.

IN THE PALM OF YOUR HANDViewers watch on smaller screens

As they applied the final touches to Episode 2 of “Road to the Winter Classic,’’ producer/editor Tim Mullen and producer Jackie Decker watched clips on a wide-screen TV and listened to the sound from two large speakers. The sharpness of the screen highlighted the blacks and blues and purples of nighttime shots aboard the Bruins bus. The speakers rumbled with the bass of the dramatic music that served as the scene’s soundtrack.

In Boston, it’s doubtful many viewers shared the same immersive experience.

Neither DirecTV nor Comcast carries Epix, which presented the series. Locally, more viewers have been clicking onto nhl.com and bostonbruins.com to get their behind-the-scenes fix. If so, it is out of the creators’ hands.

“Not at all,’’ said producer Ross Greenburg when asked whether current viewing habits affect the creation of the series. “I just have to assume that everybody’s watching on the biggest screen around.’’

Greenburg’s cameras are typically shooting tighter than those of standard sports programmers. They are looking for how ice sprays off skates, sweat dribbles off cheeks, and needles enter flesh to repair on-ice wounds. With that in mind, phones, tablets, and laptops can still take viewers inside some of their best material despite their reduced screens.

But the future of sports viewing, like everything on TV, is moving away from the traditional living-room setup. The device that will deliver content is tucked in a pocket instead of hanging on the wall. The reality is that such viewers will not enjoy the full richness of a panoramic shot or movie-quality camera work.

“My kids are married to their laptops,’’ Greenburg said. “But I still think they want to watch it on a big television.’’

GETTING HIS MANChiarelli finally acquires Kassian

Last Monday, more than five years after he initially set his sights on forward Zack Kassian, Edmonton general manager Peter Chiarelli landed his target. The Oilers acquired Kassian from Montreal for goaltender Ben Scrivens. According to ESPN, Edmonton retained 24 percent of Scrivens’s salary.

“It complements our team to have bigger bodies that can lean on guys and wear D’s down,’’ Chiarelli told Edmonton reporters regarding the 6-foot-3-inch, 217-pound Kassian. “We’re a rush team now.

“I’d like a little more of a cycle component in our game. It’s a more durable type of component to have for winning in the long run to have that kind of game too. He’s the type of player who can cycle pucks, has skill to make plays off the cycle, and he can lean on D’s.’’

When Chiarelli was in Boston, the Bruins had Kassian under consideration in the original iteration of the Phil Kessel trade. The Bruins planned to draft Kassian in the first round of 2009 with the pick they’d receive as part of the Kessel exchange with Toronto. But a miscommunication between the organizations scuttled that deal.

A lot has happened between now and then, most of it not very good for Kassian. Monday marked the third time a team has said good riddance to him.

The Sabres originally picked Kassian 13th overall in 2009. Buffalo wheeled him to Vancouver for Cody Hodgson on Feb. 27, 2012. On July 1, 2015, the Canucks traded Kassian to the Canadiens for Brandon Prust. During camp, Kassian was involved in an early-morning car crash in Montreal.

Kassian entered the NHL/NHL Players Association’s substance abuse and behavioral health program. Once he was through with the program, Kassian promptly became an Oiler. His employment will not last long if his behavior does not improve.

“If he doesn’t,’’ said Chiarelli, “that will be it.’’

It is a low-risk acquisition for the Oilers. Kassian will start his career in Bakersfield, their AHL affiliate. Whether he ever makes it up top is in question. He’ll have to get back into NHL shape. He’ll have to straighten out his life away from hockey.

Kassian’s best NHL season was in 2013-14 with Vancouver. In 74 games, the right-shot forward had 14 goals and 15 assists with 124 penalty minutes. Chiarelli likes rough-and-tumble forwards. It will be up to Kassian to make it happen.

“One thing Zack told me was, ‘I can promise you things, but I’m going to have show you these things,’ ’’ Chiarelli said. “That was a pretty telling comment. He’s got a few obstacles to overcome if he ever gets to this level. But this is something that’s allowed us to address a couple things.’’

ETC.Defense is always the top priority

On Thursday, Patriots coach Bill Belichick acknowledged his admiration for hockey, even if he isn’t familiar with the sport’s nuances. Belichick may be a hockey novice, but he has identified that defending on the ice is different than in football. “You’re centered around a point,’’ said Belichick. “Like you are in basketball, you’re defending a point. Whereas in football, you’re defending 53? yards. It’s a lot different when you’ve got to defend a line as opposed to a basket, a goal, or just a small space. It changes the defensive and offensive [strategy] because everything is funneled to that one [area].’’ It was fascinating to hear that of all the elements that are evident in hockey, defense is the thing that is refracted through the lens of the NFL’s sharpest mind. Regardless of the sport, defense always comes first to every coach.

Karlsson in a class by himself

Based on the amorphous definition of “all-around defenseman,’’ it’s possible that Ottawa’s Erik Karlsson will not win his second straight Norris Trophy this season. But so far, Karlsson is a slam dunk to take home the Hart Trophy as MVP and the Ted Lindsay Award as the NHLPA-voted Most Outstanding Player. There is no one in Karlsson’s atmosphere in terms of being the best player in the league. As of Saturday, Patrick Kane (56 points), Jamie Benn (52), and Tyler Seguin (50) were the NHL’s top three scorers. Karlsson (41) is doing his best to crack the top three. In his last five games, Karlsson played 32:46 or more four times. He is the league’s most significant game-changer. Defensively, he prevents chances from taking place by stealing the puck up the ice. When opponents enter his zone, he can bust up chances with his stick. Then he goes on the attack, where his talents are without equal. There is no player more engaging to watch.

Gallagher’s absence was felt

After Johnny Boychuk mashed two of Brendan Gallagher’s fingers with a slap shot on Nov. 22, Montreal’s do-it-all right wing returned against the defenseman’s old team in the Winter Classic. The Canadiens went 5-11-1 without Gallagher (9-10—19 in 22 games, 16:10 of ice time per appearance before the injury). They especially missed Gallagher’s net-front presence. Because he’s willing to go there and is dangerous around the net, defenders have to be mindful of Gallagher. This opens up space for his linemates. “It’s a simple game going out there with him,’’ said Max Pacioretty. “He’s going to do the dirty work often. He makes it a lot easier on his linemates.’’

Rangers are down on Hayes

Kevin Hayes was a healthy scratch for the first time this season last Wednesday against Tampa Bay. Based on the explanation of Rangers coach Alain Vigneault, the benching was a long time coming. “In Kevin’s case, I think we made it clear our expectations about him and what we felt he could do were very high,’’ Vigneault told the New York Post. “Obviously, he hasn’t lived up to that. Did we overestimate his possibilities? I don’t know, time will tell. But I do know that what I’m seeing now and what we’re seeing now is not good enough.’’ The Rangers believed the Dorchester native would be able to help at center after Matt Beleskey’s Nov. 27 hit knocked Derek Stepan (ribs) out of the lineup for approximately three weeks. But Hayes (6-11—17 in 37 games) has not played with as much presence as his bosses projected.

Angling for the ricochet

Dennis Seidenberg’s skates took a two-game goal-scoring streak into the Winter Classic. Last Sunday, Ottawa’s Mark Stone shot a puck from behind the goal line that caromed off Seidenberg’s skate blade and skittered past Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask. One game later, a fling by the Senators’ Mike Hoffman caromed off the defenseman’s boot and into the net. Stone was looking for Bobby Ryan back door on his goal. But the Ottawa forward said there have been plenty of times when banking a puck off a skater has a better chance of beating a goalie than a traditional shot. “If a goalie comes out to challenge you too far, sometimes you’re trying to throw it into the mess there,’’ Stone said. “Sometimes it hits either your guy or their guy going to the net.’’ Stone also considers the back of a goalie a good target from behind the line.

Loose pucks

Old friend P.J. Axelsson, in town for the Winter Classic alumni game, showed up at TD Garden Tuesday morning and ran into one of his old teammates, who immediately began giving the ex-Bruin the business. Of all the Bruins I’ve covered, nobody took it from his teammates more than Axelsson. He laughed it all off . . . Ray Bourque termed Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux the two best players he played against. The difference, Bourque said, was that Gretzky was always on. Lemieux’s burner wasn’t perpetually lit. But when it was aflame, Lemieux was as hard to play against as anybody for Bourque . . . Former Providence puck-stopper Jeremy Smith was named AHL Goalie of the Week last Monday. Smith, now tending goal for Minnesota’s AHL team, turned back 52 of 54 shots in back-to-back wins. The book is not closed on Smith’s NHL career . . . Boston-based RR Auction will launch its Olympic Records and Rivals auction on Jan. 14. It will run through Jan. 21. One of the notable items is a gold medal from the 1976 Winter Games in Innsbruck, Austria. The Soviet Union struck gold that year, and the medal’s estimated value is $20,000-$25,000 . . . Today’s NHLers swear by their recovery drinks. After every game, they’re walking around with all kinds of shakes and powders. After Thursday’s alumni game, the Bruins and Canadiens opted for a bubblier beverage. As usual, the graybeards have the right idea.

Fluto Shinzawa can be reached at fshinzawa@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @GlobeFluto. Material from interviews, wire services, other beat writers, and league and team sources was used in this report.