The Bruins continued their preseason slate of games with a 2-1 overtime loss to the Flyers on Monday night at Wells Fargo Center. Jack Studnicka scored for the B’s, while Jeremy Swayman stopped 34 of 36 shots in the loss. Here are three takeaways from the contest.
Swayman’s performances putting him in play for season-opening start
Much like baseball, the significance of choosing a starter in net for the season opener often matters little in the grand scheme of things.
Unlike the postseason, in which the decision of who to put between the pipes hinges on who put forth the best body of work over the span of 82 games, other factors tend to creep in when choosing a starter for a regular-season tilt in October. Oftentimes, it’s the veteran (or the pricy free-agent pickup) that gets the nod, especially when the other option is a rookie that doesn’t expect the same measure of validation.
As such, it didn’t come as much of a surprise earlier in training camp when Bruce Cassidy hinted that 28-year-old Linus Ullmark likely had the slight edge to start Boston’s season opener on Oct. 16 — although keeping the door slightly ajar for Jeremy Swayman, depending on his play during preseason action.
And with that slim opportunity, Swayman has promptly kicked that door wide open.
In his final preseason tune-up, Swayman was again strong in net on Monday night in Philadelphia — stopping 34 of the 36 shots that came his way in what was an eventual 2-1 loss to the Flyers.
With a largely Providence-heavy presence filling up the rest of Boston’s lineup, Swayman stood tall against plenty of NHL regulars on Philly’s side – headlined by a stop on a James van Riemsdyk breakaway bid in the second period.
Through three preseason games, Swayman has turned aside 68 of the 73 shots he’s faced — good for a .932 save percentage. Of course, Ullmark will get a chance to end his preseason on a high note Wednesday against the Capitals, but at this stage, Swayman sure seems to have done everything he can to warrant the first start when points are finally in play.
"There will be,” Cassidy said of an earnest discussion regarding the season-opening starter. “Sway's been rock solid. Ullmark, just in terms of exhibition play — now he's going in Wednesday — hasn't been as sharp as Swayman. I mean, we know that. Now some of it could be Ully is ramping it up a little bit.
“He didn't finish last year, playing, so there's some different things that we have to factor into our decision. But either way, I think we're going to be comfortable with who goes in there and they're both going to see time in October. We knew that going in, there'd be a certain level of competition. But we know that Sway — he looks like how he left off last year. He's solid and the goals that are getting by him are good goals. He's sealing well and challenging how he needs to. He looks sharp."
What else does Studnicka need to do to make his case?
With Charlie Coyle slated to return to game action in Boston’s preseason finale on Wednesday night, Jack Studnicka once again made a compelling argument as to why he should remain in the NHL lineup — at least in some capacity.
While most of Boston’s lineup on Monday night was comprised of AHL regulars or players on the roster bubble, Studnicka once again looked like a player intent on not logging more reps down in Providence — with the 22-year-old pivot scoring a power-play goal and leading the B’s with five shots on goal in the loss.
Jack Studnicka. PPG. 1-0 #NHLBruins pic.twitter.com/l84AOddDje
— Spoked Z (@SpokedZ) October 5, 2021
Once again, Cassidy was impressed with the finer details of Studnicka’s game — a necessary step in every young player’s development as they learn that some of the moves they pulled off against lesser competition just won’t fly in the NHL ranks.
"I liked his game. I liked his commitment to playing a 200-foot game, how he managed pucks,” Cassidy said of Studnicka. “He did not turn the puck over like he has in the past trying plays that — I hate to be disrespectful — I'll call them junior plays sometimes when these guys come up, because I've been there. I know it.
“They get away with it there. They're not going to here. The guys are just better defensively. So he's trying to stick with more simple approaches with how he's going to generate offense and he'll end up making some high-end plays because he can, and I think it's worked out better for him. He hasn't been chased back the other way. I think his defending has been excellent in terms of what we've asked.”
Still, even if Studnicka has made a compelling argument for NHL reps, it’s likely out of hands now in terms of where he ends up in the next couple of weeks. As we noted following Saturday’s preseason tilt, Studnicka could make a pretty compelling case for a fourth-line spot on the wing to open the year, especially given his two-way acumen, PK skills and generally lackluster play from other fourth-line candidates.
However, if Boston wants to keep Studnicka at center … well, then it sure seems like a start in Providence unfortunately might be in the cards for him.
“We'll have to take a look after Wednesday,” Cassidy said of Studnicka’s role. “Like do we push someone to the wing or not? That'll be a conversation. As I said the other night — we like how we are in the middle of the ice, but if our lineup looks better because we think he's ready, then we have to move someone around.
“We'll do it. It's just, are we giving Charlie Coyle what he deserves? I mean, he's a proven NHL player, he has to play some games here. He's gonna play Wednesday hopefully. But after that, he's going to have to play some games before we start moving a lot of pieces around. I just know that's the reality of it. But we'll have those conversations. If it makes sense, we'll do it.”
Expect plenty of cuts in coming days
The Bruins’ season opener is still more than a week away, but Cassidy noted earlier on Monday that the club expects to significantly trim its camp roster down soon — with Boston’s bench boss looking to compress on-ice work into just one practice group moving forward.
Of course, some youngsters on the fringe of a roster spot or in undefined roles (such as Studnicka) might tag along a bit longer before Boston has to make its final round of cuts — but there will likely not be plenty of surprises in the next day or so when guys like Nick Wolff (whose skating has been exposed in preseason) are sent down to Providence’s camp.
However, where things could get tricky in terms of cuts are the multiple players currently up on the NHL roster already signed to one-way contracts. Fair to say, the waiver wire could be very, very busy in the coming days.
"We'll certainly get down to — our plan is to get down to one group for tomorrow,” Cassidy said of camp cuts. “Some of the guys were off the ice yesterday, the more veteran guys that played Thursday and Saturday. So this group tonight that's playing no matter what, probably deserves a bit of a breather. So that's something we'll talk about on the plane on the way home and then tomorrow morning. But yes, we anticipate — let's get to our group, have our lineup for Wednesday for the most part, get down to those last tough decisions.
“And then the conversation always comes around to asset management, right? You've got guys that require waivers, how does that affect our roster, etc. So those are things that Donnie handles more than I do. For us it's more about who's outplayed who, pencil in your 7-8th D or an extra forward, your fourth-line guy."