The Bruins’ first preseason loss came in a game where the standings didn’t matter, but the details still told the story. Boston went to Xfinity Mobile Arena on Thursday with a roster heavy on bubble and AHL players, and Philadelphia answered with an NHL-heavy group. By the end, the Flyers had a 2-0 win and Joseph Woll had a 28-save shutout against his former club.
Michael DiPietro handled the full workload for Boston and turned aside 26 of 28 shots, but he also picked up two penalty minutes after high-sticking Travis Konecny in the first period. The Flyers jumped ahead at 4:02 when Helge Grans directed a point shot toward DiPietro, Porter Martone got a piece of the puck on the way through and kicked it across the crease, and Matvei Michkov finished it with a backhand.
That was enough to put Boston on the back foot early. DiPietro saw 15 shots in the opening period and stopped all but one, while the Bruins managed only five shots on goal and didn’t cash in on an early power play. Philadelphia carried the 1-0 lead into the first intermission.
Boston did get more life in the second, even if the scoreboard never budged. The Bruins earned another power play when Trevor Zegras had his sweater tucked in, a violation the league is emphasizing this year.
Zegras was warned, and referee Jon McIsaac made the call quickly after a defensive-zone faceoff. The Bruins then had a 38-second 5-on-3 after Jett Luchanko hooked Frederic Brunet, but they couldn’t break through.
They put four shots on Woll during the extended advantage, including two from James Hagens, and still came up empty.
Brunet also went to the box for holding Sean Couturier’s stick, though the Flyers never got a shot on that chance. Boston did tighten things up after the first period, outshooting Philadelphia 14-7 in the second, but it still trailed 1-0 after 40 minutes.
The Flyers added some breathing room early in the third. At 2:57, Cole Knuble buried a loose puck in front after Jett Luchanko drove the net and Jacob Gaucher poked the puck through with DiPietro in position. That made it 2-0, and Boston never found the answer.
Brian Halonen tried to jolt the Bruins with a fight against Flyers defenseman Simon Benoit. Both landed punches, but Benoit ended it with the takedown, and the bout didn’t lead to any momentum for Boston.
Michkov nearly had another late, but he rang one off the post instead of finding the empty space. Sean Couturier set him up, and Frederic Brunet disrupted the play.
Marco Sturm pulled DiPietro with just over two minutes left, and Woll shut the door the rest of the way, including a glove save on Riley Duran. James Hagens got Boston’s final shot of the night, but Woll finished the shutout.
The Bruins head back to Boston on Thursday night and will be at Warrior Ice Arena in Brighton on Friday morning. After that morning skate, they’ll close out the 2026-27 preseason against the Washington Capitals at 7:00 PM.
Then the games start to count.
Bruins Lines
Ivan Ivan - Sean Kuraly - Riley Duran
James Hagens - Dans Locmelis - Lukas Reichel
Alex Steeves - Brendan Gaunce - Brian Halonen
Attilio Biasca - Jake Schmaltz - Mikey Eyssimont
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Bruins Face A Roster Decision With One Forward Suddenly In Limbo
The weekend waiver wire brought an early test for Bostons roster management, with 18 NHL players exposed to the rest of the league on Saturday and a handful of names carrying real meaning beyond simple procedural moves. Among them is Lukas Reichel, who suddenly finds himself in limbo as teams sort through options before the deadline for claims passes on Sunday.
For the Bruins, the situation is straightforward on paper but potentially important in practice, because a player who goes unclaimed does not simply disappear from the conversation. If Reichel clears, he can be assigned to Bostons AHL affiliate, leaving the Bruins to decide how they want to handle a forward who is now waiting on the rest of the league to make the first move. [Read more 🡒]