By: Ryan Bosworth | Follow me on Twitter/X @RyanJBosworth
The Boston Bruins were back on home ice tonight, as they hosted the Philadelphia Flyers in their second of four preseason games. Boston came into tonight’s game off a 3-2 win against the Washington Capitals on Sunday, as James Hagens sealed the deal for Boston in the shootout.
Tonight’s roster consisted of a quite different makeup than that of the roster on Sunday, as the only carry-over from preseason game one to preseason game two was defenseman Frederic Brunet, who is looking to make the jump from the Providence Bruins secure a job on the big club’s roster. Among those making their preseason debuts tonight were David Pastrnak, Morgan Geekie, Elias Lindholm, J.J. Peterka, Nikita Zadorov, Hampus Lindholm, and more.
Dominant Defense
There was some good and some bad to this game, but it’s the preseason, and that’s to be expected. Some of that good showed itself early in the first, and it was most prominent with the play of the Nikita Zadorov and Connor Clifton defense pair. Through 20 minutes of play, the pair combined for four shots on goal and three hits.
The physicality of the pair was extremely evident, and if it’s a sign of anything to come, they’re going to be a very tough pair to play against. Along with Zadorov and Clifton, defenseman Will Borgen had a strong start in the Spoked B. Strong stick, big-bodied, and able to throw a booming hit — everything the Bruins were hoping he’d be when they signed him this offseason. Now, the question will be whether or not he can play this style of hockey consistently.
Top-Six Strong
The Bruins top-six tonight is extremely close to what we’ll see on opening night. A first-line of Elias Lindholm centering David Pastrnak and Morgan Geekie, with a second line of Pavel Zacha centering Casey Mittelstadt and J.J. Peterka.
The top line pretty much provided exactly what you’d expect from them, while shaking off the rust of the offseason. Elias Lindholm had a pretty strong game, and Pastrnak and Geekie were finding their groove on his wings. If they’re able to play like this after fully settling in, the Bruins shouldn’t have much to worry about up front.
The line that really impressed was the Mittelstadt, Zacha, and Peterka second-line, and more specifically, J.J. Peterka as a whole had a great night. Once he settled in, he was really able to showcase his speed and puck handling ability. Marco Sturm switched up the top-six, putting Peterka on a line with Lindholm and Pastrnak, and the two wingers played very well together.
Strong Finish
Despite it being a preseason game, the Bruins did play a consistent 60-minute game tonight. They really didn’t let their foot off the gas and were able to score a string of goals late in the third period. Coming into the final frame deadlocked at one apiece, the Bruins added four more thanks to Morgan Geekie, Brian Halonen, Elias Lindholm, and a second from Mikey Eyssimont, which sealed the deal at a final score of 5-1.
While it wasn’t a perfect showing, as David Pastrnak said postgame that it was a “classic first (preseason) game,” and that he liked the shortened preseason but,“the way I felt tonight, I (didn’t) like it,” the Bruins were able to do a lot of things right. They had really strong puck movement, strong defense — most notably from Frederic Brunet, who contributed with two primary assists, as well as Will Borgen, Nikita Zadorov, and Connor Clifton all having pretty strong preseason debuts. There’s work to do, but certainly a lot for Boston to build on.
Leave a Reply