#boston-bruins

#boston-bruins

We are about to discover a lot more about just who these Bruins are. The B's will begin a short but, likely, telling three-game road Thursday night in Las Vegas against a Golden Knights team that many see as poised to break the Edmonton Oilers' two-year run to the Stanley Cup Final. And if the Golden Knights can't do it, the B's opponent Saturday night, the Colorado Avalanche, have a good shot at it.

The B's had some brutal puck management issues to start the game that would contribute to a 2-0 deficit. Jake Guentzel created two turnovers that led to both goals. On the first one, the high-scoring winger picked Charlie McAvoy's pocket at the Boston blue line and the Bolts went on a quick counter-attack that resulted in an Anthony Cirelli tap-in off a Gage Goncalves pass just 1:09 into the game, Cirelli's first of two in the period.

The Bruins played their most dominant period of the season in the opening 20 minutes, outshooting the Sabres 17-2 - it felt like it was even more lopsided - but they managed just a 1-0 lead. The goal came on their 14th shot of the period at 15:48 and for the second time in as many games, it was the second line that gave the B's the first lead of the game.

One thing we've learned - or had confirmed - through two games of this Bruins season is that winning will rarely come easily for this team. It doesn't matter if they're playing a legitimate Eastern Conference contender on the road like the Washington Capitals or a young, up-and-coming-but-not-there-yet club like the Chicago Blackhawks. But what will make their life in the National Hockey League a little easier is if they get kind the kind of contributions throughout the lineup like they did in Thursday's home opener.

Forwards Matej Blumel and Alex Steeves, defenseman Jonathan Aspirot, and goalie Michael DiPietro were placed on waivers. All four cleared waivers and will report to Providence. The Bruins also assigned Matt Poitras to Providence, with the young center exempt from the waiver wire. Boston had until 5 p.m. on Monday to get their roster down to 23 players, with the Bruins seemingly settling all business a day earlier.

The Bruins made their final cuts for the opening night roster on Sunday, getting down to the 23-man limit. There were some mild surprises and one feel-good story. Goalie Michael DiPietro, wings Alex Steeves and Matej Blumel and defenseman Jonathan Aspirot were placed on waivers for the purpose of being assigned to Providence while center Matt Poitras, who does not yet require waivers, was sent directly to Providence. Bubble players John Beecher, Marat Khusnutdinov and Jeffrey Viel all made the cut.

If the Bruins can replicate Saturday's dress rehearsal when the games start to count on Wednesday in Washington, they just might have a chance do something this season. In the final preseason game against the New York Rangers at TD Garden, the B's scored three times in the first two periods and then leaned on Jeremy Swayman (30 saves) to pick them up in the third to record the 4-1 victory.

The handful of young players that were perceived to be fighting for the one or two open jobs did not do much to secure a position on the Bruins roster on Thursday in Washington. But one player who was almost an afterthought to this point showed up in a big way in the B's 3-1 win over the Capitals. And Joonas Korpisalo played like a goalie who wants more playing time than he got llast year.

Last season, there were plenty of opportunities for regression, given what occurred during the 2023-24 season. Almost every player in last year's article regressed in a meaningful way. Auston Matthews, Sam Reinhart, Jonathan Marchessault, Zach Hyman and the Vancouver Canucks regressed in their own significant ways from the previous season. That's not to say they won't bounce back this season.

Peeke was taken in the second round (34th overall) in 2016 by the Blue Jackets. After a three-year collegiate career at Notre Dame and some time in the AHL with the Cleveland Monsters, Peeke became a regular in the Jackets' lineup, playing 82 and 80 games in 2021-22 and 2022-23. But after falling out of favor in Columbus, he was traded to the B's for Jakub Zboril and a 2027 third-round pick at the 2024 trade deadline.

The top line of Morgan Geekie, Elias Lindholm and Pastrnak remained the same, as did the fourth line of Mikey Eyssimont, Sean Kuraly and Mark Kastelic. The middle six was jumbled, with Pavel Zacha moving back to center between Viktor Arvidsson and Matej Blumel while Casey Mittelstadt dropped down to a third line with Tanner Jeannot and Matt Poitras, getting his first look of the preseason at wing. There was also a fifth line of Fraser Minten centering Alex Steeves and Marat Khusnutdinov.

But Pavel Zacha, drafted by the Devils sixth overall in 2015 as a centerman but has bounced between pivot and wing throughout his career, looks at his versatility more as a blessing than a curse. He just wants a little heads-up for what's expected of him. That has been the case for Zacha in his first three seasons as a Bruin.

"I take a lot of pride in it," said Eyssimont. "It's a big part of my game. And it's not just grit and tenacity that gives me that kind of reputation. It's the skill that I play with that is a pain the ass, the plays that I make are a pain in the ass. Obviously, there are times when I get under a player's skin but a lot of times that, if you watch the film, it's because of the plays that I made and being on guys, turning pucks over and knowing how to play."

I can't feel anything other than grateful [and] fortunate to have played for the Boston Bruins for 6 years,

I want to play until I get kicked out of the league.

Aside from elite forward David Pastrnak the offense will struggle. A few players will have good seasonsbut the lack of offense is one reason this team will not make the playoffs next season. In the offseason, GM Don Sweeney made moves to make this team more competitive but nothing new for the offense. Coming into the fold are forwards Viktor Arvidsson, Matej Blumel, Michael Eyssimont, and Tanner Jeannot.

Bruins "We're going to be a much more competitive team and held to the standard that Marco was talking about the other day."

One player who is expected to make a strong run for a spot on the Boston roster is center Fraser Minten, who finished the season with the B's after being obtained from Toronto in the Brandon Carlo trade. Other players to watch are former Umass forward Dans Locmelis, the 2022 fourth round pick who played very well at the end of the season with the Providence Bruins (3-9-12 in six games).