The Bruins wrapped up the preseason by taking down the Rangers, 3-1, at Madison Square Garden on Thursday. Matt Poitras scored the go-ahead goal in the third period, and Morgan Geekie had two assists. Charlie Coyle and A.J. Greer each scored as well, while Jeremy Swayman made 22 saves.
Boston wrapped up the preseason with a 2-2-2 record. The remainder of training camp stands between the B's and the season opener next Wednesday. Here are three takes I'll probably regret later...
Bruins look more like themselves in finale, but more work to do
It was a choppy game between two sides still trying to round into form before the season kicks off (shots were just 23-15, New York) – if you thought the Bruins had a frustrating preseason, the Rangers finished 1-5-0. That'll be the ultimate test of trying not to read into it too much for New York.
Nevertheless, the B's were a little more like themselves as the game wore on, playing fast, relying on puck possession (which still needs to see marked improvements) and not spending as much time in their own end. In the third period, Boston dominated high-danger chances at 5v5, holding a 7-3 edge.
"You could see it in the first period, we were starting to play to our identity," Jim Montgomery told reporters. "There's a lot to like from this game."
Geekie and Frederic were among skaters to have their best games of the preseason, while Coyle looked sharp as a top-six center.
There are things to work on though, particularly on special teams. Boston was 1-for-3 on the power play, and their first opportunity was filled with struggles with zone entries and puck movement. On the one they capitalized on, the Bruins found their identity on the power play, moving the puck quickly and poking holes in the Rangers' coverage. It hasn't happened consistently in the preseason. Montgomery believes the penalty kill (0-for-5) needs more fine-tuning as well.
"We gotta start moving the puck a little quicker and our entries gotta be a little sharper," Montgomery said. "Our penalty kill is what needs more work, to be honest. We've got five days of practice coming up here. ... Those five days of practice, we're really going to hone on special teams and sharpen the details of our team play."
Lohrei gives the Bruins another tough decision
Mason Lohrei was solid again as the B's have another youngster to make a tough call on before the final roster takes shape.
The rangy blue-liner blocked a game-high four shots and drew a penalty in 20:13 of ice time skating on the second pair with Brandon Carlo. According to Natural Stat Trick, in the 12:40 that Lohrei-Carlo were on the ice together at 5v5, the Bruins outshot the Rangers, 4-1, held a 1-0 scoring margin and had 51.41% of expected goals. The pair began just one of 15 shifts in the offensive zone and of the 11 faceoffs they were on for, just two were in the attacking zone.
Between his usage with Carlo and his 3:27 of shorthanded ice time, which was third among B's defensemen and 1:20 clear of Charlie McAvoy, the Bruins seemed intent on learning more about where Lohrei's defensive game against NHL competition is at. All in all, it seems the returns were solid.
Lohrei had already done enough to at the very least be in the conversation to begin the year in the NHL, but to this point, the belief has been he would start the year playing pressure-free, all-situations hockey for the P-Bruins. But after a bumpy night for Derek Forbort, a quiet night for Ian Mitchell and iffy camps for Jakub Zboril and Kevin Shattenkirk, perhaps Lohrei has made it a tougher call than initially thought.
The offensive instincts and skating, especially on the breakout, have been evident since Day 1 for the youngster, but the question has always been whether or not his defense will be up to speed already. At least tonight, it was.
"He's gonna be a big part of our future. The question is if that's Oct. 11 or sometime later this year," Montgomery told TNT's Darren Pang, which may or may not say a lot about what the B's feel is timeline is.
Things could get very interesting in the final round of cuts.
Poitras isn't going anywhere... if it wasn't already obvious
There isn't much else you can say about the run Poitras has been on.
This was the cherry on top of what has been a slam-dunk training camp for the 19-year-old. It seems impossible for the B's to send him to the OHL after another strong showing.
“Yeah, I mean, it certainly looks that way,” Montgomery said. “He’s earned the right to stick around for a while, that’s for sure.”
While I still think best practice would have Poitras center Brad Marchand and Jake DeBrusk while bumping Coyle between Frederic and Geekie, but tonight, Poitras showed he can get it done no matter who's around him.
The young pivot finishes the preseason with five points (3g, 2a) in three games. After failing to generate a shot attempt the other night in Philadelphia, the message (if any) was received loud and clear by Poitras, who had the game-tying goal on Tuesday and the game-winning goal in this one. He had three shot attempts against the Rangers, two shots, three individual scoring chances and two individual high-danger chances. He added a takeaway and went 4-for-5 at the dot with three of his wins coming in the defensive zone.
On his third-period tally, the sequence all started with Poitras winning a defensive zone faceoff before eventually finding a soft spot in front of the net and getting lost in coverage, where Frederic found him for a Grade-A look and the goal.
"He just seems to be in the right spots," Montgomery said. "He has the puck a lot because he's always in the right support position, and then when he gets the puck, the poise with the puck is... He's calm beyond his years with the puck."
Closing thoughts...
- Swayman was good when he needed to be, especially protecting a one-goal lead in the third. Was 2-for-2 on high-danger shots and 7-for-8 on medium-danger.
- Johnny Beecher and Patrick Brown were each on the fourth line, and both had rather uneventful nights. I still give Beecher the edge for 4C, and I think someone like Jakub Lauko would be a better fit as 4RW, given his skating ability.
- Jesper Boqvist had his moments, but I'm still not sure he has outplayed Danton Heinen. Montgomery has talked about his skating and ability to make smart plays in both ends, but it hasn't translated to games aside from some bits and pieces. Boqvist has been a weird player to get a read on so far in camp. Some seem to be fully in, while others, like myself, have just been 'eh' to this point.
- Funny to see Massachusetts boys Coyle (East Weymouth) and Jimmy Vesey (North Reading) going after it. Must've been something about Marylou's vs. Bagel World. Or maybe bar pizzas vs. roast beef sandwiches.
The Bruins will be back at it at Warrior tomorrow as they continue to ramp up before the season opener next Wednesday at TD Garden.