The Bruins closed out their preseason slate with a 5-3 loss to the Devils on Saturday night at TD Garden. Here are some takeaways from Boston’s sixth preseason tilt.
Nick Foligno responds
It does seem like Nick Foligno got the memo when it came to his job security and his place in Boston’s lineup.
Yes, Foligno’s lack of production in a B’s sweater, his occupancy of a lineup spot and his $3.8 million cap hit have drawn the ire of plenty — but give credit where it’s due. The 34-year-old forward was one of the few bright spots up front for the Bruins on Saturday, recording a primary helper on Jakub Lauko’s third-period goal and landing six hits over his 14:55 of ice time.
“By far his best game,” Jim Montgomery said of Foligno.
Beyond just his contributions on the stat sheet, Foligno sure passed the eye test when it came to his pace and puck play — generating a few scoring chances by way of some quick dekes with the puck while using his legs to both string together strong forechecking shifts and extend O-zone possessions.
Even if Foligno does earn a starting spot in Boston’s lineup on Wednesday night down in Washington D.C., he’s still standing on some unsteady ground when it comes to his ability to log consistent minutes on this depth chart.
But Saturday at least stood as a step in the right direction for Foligno, who also picked a good night to put together his best outing of the preseason — given that other bottom-six candidates like Trent Frederic left a lot to be desired.
"That's above my pay grade, thankfully,” Foligno said when asked if he had any sense of where he’ll fit in Boston’s lineup. I really don't — I think that's probably a compliment to the organization for the group that we have here and the depth. I think there's a lot of capable guys and I think it's just a matter of who's gonna give us the best chance on that night. And I think it's probably gonna be one of those things where it's gonna be a little bit of moving parts and we'll see where it goes.
“But I like our group. I like the way we practice as a group. There are a lot of good players on the ice. So it's fun. It's fun to be a part of and I think you're just trying to make sure you're bringing the element that you need to bring to help the team."
DeBrusk-Bergeron-Smith line looks like a winning combination
Let’s face it: you put most shot-first, forechecking forwards on a line next to a two-way juggernaut like Patrice Bergeron, you’re probably going to be in good hands.
And with Taylor Hall’s availability for Wednesday’s season opener still up in the air — and Pavel Zacha subsequently slotted in next to David Krejci and David Pastrnak — bumping Craig Smith up to the top line next to Boston’s captain sure seems like a proactive short-term measure.
"I think the way [Smith] plays with speed and he's tenacious on pucks - Patrice Bergeron is a really talented grinder. He likes to work. He needs workers with him," Montgomery said ahead of puck drop. "He fits well. Obviously, it's just a placeholder until (Brad Marchand) is back, as we all know."
Even though their shifts didn’t lead to points on the board, this makeshift top line still made things difficult for Mackenzie Blackwood throughout the night — with both DeBrusk and Smith extending O-zone shifts thanks to some spirited forechecking.
Montgomery ultimately reshuffled his forward lines as the game carried on, moving A.J. Greer up at LW and bumping DeBrusk back over to the right side. But during the 5:58 of 5v5 ice time that the DeBrusk-Bergeron-Smith line logged on Saturday, Boston held a 9-1 edge in shot attempts and a 3-0 edge in high-danger scoring chances.
Considering that the alternative is likely bringing a fourth-line grinder up to the top line, having a player like Smith earn a look (and potentially gain some momentum with those coveted minutes) seems like an effective way to keep Boston’s top-six group rolling while giving a player like Smith an early-season spark.
Anton Stralman … come on down
It was a pretty rough night from Connor Clifton — who didn’t exactly do himself any favors when it comes to locking down a starting spot on the right side of that third D pair. In the first period alone, Clifton threw a puck into traffic that was picked up by Jesper Bratt and turned into a breakaway bid — while Jack Hughes later danced around Clifton in the sequence that led to an Alexander Holtz tally.
Things continued to unravel in the third period, when Clifton left Hughes in an attempt to cut off Holtz down low — leaving a hole in Boston's defensive coverage that allowed Hughes to pounce and score before Derek Forbort could adjust.
Not to be outdone, Jakub Zboril also continued his downward slide this preseason — making a number of costly miscues and poor reads that routinely led to Grade-A chances, or pucks sailing into twine.
"I don't think he played as well tonight as he did in the first exhibition game,” Montgomery said of Zboril. “We have to remember that he's a young man that just came back from ACL reconstruction. And I think the excitement of playing — he was on top of his game, and the more you play, you start to get the grind, mentally, having to assert yourself again, every game, to prepare the right way, to make plays.
“And when you're coming back, you're not in a rhythm of playing a lot of hockey games in a short amount of time. And he's going through that right now. We knew there were going to be moments where he wouldn't be consistently good for us, just because of coming back from the injury and the time off."
We’ll see how things pan out with Anton Stralman, but he’s made a pretty convincing case for a one-year contract this season — along with a starting nod on Wednesday down in Washington DC. Boston could really use some of his steady play further down on the depth chart.