The Boston Bruins have two preseason games and about a week's worth of training camp practice reps to assess the performance of players competing for roster spots.
Entering camp, much of the competition was for bottom-six forward spots, and that hasn't changed with October nearing. We know what the goalie tandem will be, and the blue line is pretty much set barring injuries. The real action is up front, where several young players and newcomers are vying for different roles.
There are still plenty of opportunities for prospects to impress head coach Jim Montgomery and his staff. The Bruins have four preseason games remaining, and they'll play all of them in just a six-day span through Oct. 5.
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Which players are best position to make the Opening Night roster?
Here's our second Bruins lineup projection for the upcoming season.
Forwards
The "Perfection Line" is over as a result of Patrice Bergeron's retirement, but could the Bruins put two-thirds of that trio together to begin the upcoming season? It's happened a bit in camp, and the combo makes a lot of sense.
The Marchand-Zacha-Pastrnak trio played just 6:19 of 5-on-5 ice time last season, but we know Marchand and Pastrnak have played a ton together in their careers. In fact, the Bruins were a plus-477 in shot attempts, plus-320 in shots on net, plus-222 in scoring chances and had a plus-29 goal differential during the 997:52 of 5-on-5 ice time Marchand and Pastrnak have played together over the last three seasons.
“They’re obviously great players (Zacha and Pastrnak). I thought we clicked pretty well,” Marchand told reporters after Wednesday's practice. “I really don’t look too much into it. I think I’ve been on a different line every day. They’re going to try all kinds of different line combinations throughout camp. Obviously, they’re two great players. Pasta is one of the best goal-scorers in the league. Pavs took a massive step last year. He has incredible vision. Really good two-way player like Bergy.
“I had a lot of fun playing with them. Tomorrow, we’ll just keep building and keep working together. It’s gonna be a work in progress. We weren’t completely in sync out there. But that’s expected, especially when you have a new center."
Marchand playing on the top line would put James van Riemsdyk on the second line with Charlie Coyle and Jake DeBrusk.
The bottom six is still where the majority of the question marks remain.
John Beecher had a strong preseason debut against the New York Rangers and a solid second game versus the Buffalo Sabres. Beecher and veteran Patrick Brown are the top candidates for the fourth-line center role. Brown is capable of playing on the wing, so it's possible both of them could make the team and play on the same line. Brown has plenty of experience and is very much like the previous fourth-line center, Tomas Nosek, with his ability to take (and win) defensive zone draws, kill penalties and play very physical (167 hits last season). The Bruins want Beecher to do those things, and he has in the AHL, but doing it in the NHL is a different ballgame. It would make sense to find a role for Beecher on Opening Night, though, because as a 2019 first-round pick it's time to find out if he's truly an NHL-caliber player.
Jesper Boqvist was one of Boston's best players in the 4-1 loss to the Sabres on Tuesday night. He's a strong defensive winger with some offensive pop. He has gotten some reps with Morgan Geekie and Trent Frederic in camp, which isn't surprising because these three players' skill sets compliment each other pretty well.
It's a hard-nosed trio that won't have any issues blocking shots, throwing hits, fighting for pucks in the tough areas of the ice, etc. Boqvist's high hockey IQ and overall speed makes him a reliable player all over the ice. It wouldn't be shocking at all if he earns a left wing role in the bottom six.
Defensemen
Top prospect Mason Lohrei played quite well in Tuesday's preseason defeat to the Sabres. He played nearly the entire game -- 29:01 to be exact -- and handled his own against real NHL players such as Tage Thompson and Jeff Skinner, both of whom tallied more than 80 points last season.
Lohrei has to make quicker decisions in his own zone, but you can tell he loves handling the puck, he is a gifted playmaker and he's well-positioned in all three zones. He played a huge role at Ohio State and it's clear he enjoys being that workhorse on the back end who is on the ice in all situations.
Despite his impressive showing, it would still be a surprise if he was among the Bruins' top six defensemen on Opening Night, unless there's an injury. The B's have plenty of depth on the left side of the blue line, and it would benefit Lohrei to get more reps in the AHL against more physical and speedier competition than what he saw with the Buckeyes.
Lohrei's performance in camp and the preseason is definitely encouraging for the B's, though. He looks like a real NHL player.
Goaltenders
- Starter: Linus Ullmark
- Backup: Jeremy Swayman
There are still no question marks here. Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman are the 1A and 1B between the pipes.
However, prospect Brandon Bussi has played well in camp and gave an excellent performance in the preseason opener versus the New York Rangers. He earned a 29-save shutout, while also giving us a save of the year candidate with an unreal glove stop.
Bussi ranked second among all AHL goalies in save percentage as a rookie last season. Another strong campaign with Providence could make him the backup in Boston in the not-so-distant future.