By: Tom Calautti | Follow me on Twitter/X @TCalauttis
The Boston Bruins kicked off the 2026-27 season with a victory last night, when they prevailed over the Washington Capitals with a 3-2 shootout victory. The win may be a nice start to the season, but the real story of the game was which young players stood out and made the case for themselves to be regular fixtures on the team’s NHL roster. One youngster who helped his case was Matt Poitras.
The 22-year-old centerman is in a dog fight at this year’s training camp, vying against the likes of Mikey Eyssimont, Alex Steeves, and Dans Locmelis to win the final forward spot on this season’s roster. Poitras has spent the majority of the last two seasons in the AHL, working on honing the finer details and rounding out his game to become a more complete NHLer. Last night, he proved he has put in the work and is ready to take the next step.
Poitras’s highlight play of the night came with the team trailing 2-1 with less than two minutes remaining in the game. Poitras won an offensive zone faceoff (one area the Bruins wanted him to improve), cleanly to Fraser Minten, who found Charlie McAvoy for a one-timer that lasered past Logan Thompson and knotted the game at two apiece.
But it wasn’t just Poitras’ game-tying assist that made his night; it was the entirety of his performance that showed his continued growth and development. According to Natural Stat Trick, Poitras was tied for the team lead in both shot attempts (seven) and shots (four) while also creating six individual scoring chances and three individual high-danger chances. In addition to that, he won 60 percent of his draws, including the crucial late-third-period one that led to the game-tying goal.
The individual offensive gifts have always been present in Poitras’ game, but what Boston’s management wanted to see was a more well-rounded profile, complete with better defensive positioning, increased physicality, and an overall improved awareness of the game. The Ontario native put those skills on display last night, and it led to his line being one of the most effective of the game.
Poitras centered a line between Lukas Reichel and newcomer Attilio Biasca. That trio spent 6:22 together at even strength and posted a shot attempt differential of 11-2, a shot differential of 7-1, a scoring chance differential of 7-0, and a high-danger chance differential of 5-0. Simply put, Poitras’ line dominated their minutes and played a complete and effective brand of hockey.
The one blemish on the night came in overtime when the youngster got whistled for a questionable hooking penalty in overtime. To the naked eye, it looked like Caps defenseman Cole Hutson pinned Poitras’ stick against his body and wrenched it away, selling a hooking minor to the officials.
Other than that one miscue, the 2022 second-round pick did pretty much everything he could to prove he belongs on the roster. Poitras was solid defensively, strong on pucks, played his position well, and even chipped in on the scoresheet. Boston’s forward group is a numbers game at this point, but if management is serious about young players earning their spots this preseason, Poitras took a major step last night in establishing himself as NHL-ready.
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