Czech line dominates, Mike Reilly proving doubters wrong & more takeaways from Bruins’ win over Rangers

The Bruins continued their preseason slate with a 5-4 win over the Rangers Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden. Here are some takeaways from Boston’s fifth preseason tilt.

Box Score

Czechs Mix

Even though Jim Montgomery expressed some hope on Wednesday that Taylor Hall will not be on the shelf for weeks due to an upper-body injury, the Bruins will likely opt for the cautious route when it comes to not rushing the top-six forward back, even with other star talents like Brad Marchand and Charlie McAvoy still a ways away from returning. 

As such, the current plan for Boston’s “second” line in the short term is the addition of Pavel Zacha at left wing next to David Krejci and David Pastrnak. Sure, Zacha may not have the transition talents and overall offensive ceiling of a Hall, but the B’s latest trade acquisition is no slouch, either — and when added to a forward trio anchored by star forwards Krejci and Pastrnak, the Bruins are still expecting plenty of gaudy stat lines in the offensive zone. 

And if Wednesday’s 5-4 victory stood as a preview of what’s to come, the Bruins shouldn’t have to worry all that much about Zacha stepping into Hall’s spot for now. Because at the end of the day, any line anchored by the likes of Pastrnak and Krejci is going to do plenty of damage against the opposition.

After a sluggish opening period, the Krejci line sparked Boston’s eventual comeback win at MSG, with the trio combining for three goals and eight total points over the final 40 minutes of action.

"It was pretty impressive," Montgomery said. "Just the chemistry they seemed to have right away was good. They made a lot of plays in all three zones that led to goals from all three — whether it was breakouts, finding the middle of the ice or the neutral zone with some of the plays where they came back to the puck and found a weak side."

Zacha jumpstarted Boston’s rally with an impressive individual effort and finish against Jaroslav Halak just 36 seconds into the second period, while both Pastrnak and Krejci later lit the lamp off of a trademark one-timer and a slick 2-on-1 set-up in the middle frame.

In total, during the 13:52 of 5v5 ice time that the Zacha-Krejci-Pastrnak line logged on Wednesday, the Bruins held a 16-5 edge in shot attempts and outscored the Blueshirts, 4-0. 

Be it Zacha or eventually Hall, this unit is in line to rip up some defenses once the regular season commences. 

McLaughlin should be Boston’s 4RW come next week

The Czech line (Czeching Line?) might have done most of the heavy lifting on Wednesday, but Boston’s fifth preseason game also offered one of the final chances for a number of players on the roster bubble to stake their claim for regular minutes come Oct. 12.

One guy who really shouldn’t have to look over his shoulder at this point is Marc McLaughlin, who continued his strong preseason with a primary helper on Jake DeBrusk’s first-period tally and landed two shots on goal. McLaughlin’s strong camp prompted Boston to send Oskar Steen through waivers and eventually down to Providence, and McLaughlin only validated such a roster decision by once again showcasing his talents down in New York.

He didn’t have the same pop (or tangible stats) as McLaughlin, but Jack Studnicka once again turned in a few solid plays in Wednesday’s win, including winning a puck battle down low in the sequence that led to DeBrusk’s tally. He also managed to stay in the game despite taking some bone-crunching hits from both Sammy Blais and Vincent Trocheck.

Studnicka hasn’t separated himself from the competition to the same degree as McLaughlin, but I still think the 23-year-old pivot offers plenty of intrigue at the 4C spot, especially if Montgomery is vying for a higher offensive output from that unit. 

Mike Reilly continues to impress

Another day, another game in which Mike Reilly continues to prove the doubters wrong. For all of the discourse surrounding his tough 2021-22 season and his fate in this lineup once reinforcements arrive on the blue line, Reilly has continued to excel so far this fall — his latest contribution being this highlight-reel tally in the third period. 

Whether it be his return from offseason ankle surgery or his skills translating to Montgomery’s offensive-minded systems (perhaps both?), Reilly is playing like a guy who shouldn’t be bumped out of this lineup any time soon — and could be an effective weapon further down on this depth chart, even when both McAvoy and Grzelcyk return.

Jake DeBrusk still producing at LW

It was good to see DeBrusk continue to put together a strong performance on Wednesday after getting shuffled back over to left wing. Even though DeBrusk has scored once so far this preseason, he’s impressed in his previous outings so far this fall, using that straight-line speed to put defenders on their heels while setting up some teammates for good looks with a few crisp saucer feeds.

With DeBrusk not missing a step on the left side, it should open the door for Boston to move him to LW next to Patrice Bergeron for the time being, especially with Zacha taking over Hall’s spot for now. 

Such a move would then allow the B’s to then bump up a RW option to temporarily fill in on the Bergeron line (Craig Smith? McLaughlin?) — with such a configuration offering a much higher ceiling when compared to Boston potentially promoting a LW like Nick Foligno or Trent Frederic up to the top line. 

“It's highly considered — all options are on the table,” Montgomery said of moving DeBrusk to LW. “Whether it's the right winger or left winger, we're thinking about a lot of options to play with Bergy and JD.  ... I actually talked to him during the morning skate today, and we talked more about players and style of players that we think would help complement them.”

Odds and ends

• After a strong start to the preseason, Jakub Zboril has come down to earth a bit over these last few games, with the Czech product particularly struggling in the opening period of play on Wednesday night. Along with some miscommunications that led to soft areas of the ice that Mika Zibanejad pounced on, Zboril also had a poor dump-in that eventually resulted in New York’s third goal of the period just seconds later. He should still be starting — likely on the third pair — next week, but Zboril will need to tighten some things up. 
• Not exactly the cleanest night from Jeremy Swayman in net, with the B’s goalie relinquishing four goals on 32 shots. If Linus Ullmark posts a clean outing on Saturday against the Devils, it sure seems like the veteran will have the inside track for the season opener down in DC. 
• A bit of a rude awakening for Fabian Lysell and a young B’s third line on Wednesday, with the grouping of Lysell, Johnny Beecher and Jakub Lauko on the ice for two goals against. Again, there were some flashes of Lysell’s potential and high-end skill, but a start in Providence still seems like the best course for him to take this fall. 
• Quite the hit here from Anton Stralman on Sammy Blais — especially after the Rangers forward popped Studnicka earlier in the period. Don’t know how Stralman doesn’t dot the i’s and cross the t’s on an official contract with Boston in the next few days.