The Bruins hit the ice for preseason action today, and while the regular season is still nine days away, the first test arrives at 5:00 PM against Washington at TD Garden.
This is the first of four preseason games left on Boston’s schedule, and the roster for today’s opener looks a lot like the line combinations Marco Sturm has been using since camp opened. It is not the full picture yet, but it is close enough to give a real look at where things stand.
Boston is expected to dress a majority-Group A group, though not an entirely clean one. The Capitals are bringing a team with a solid veteran presence too, even without Alex Ovechkin or Ryan Leonard.
The Bruins’ lineup also includes Charlie McAvoy and Frederic Brunet, while Will Borgen and Hampus Lindholm are both out for this one. Borgen landed in Boston on July 1, and with the Bruins being the fourth NHL team of his career, he’s already used to adjusting to new systems.
He’s also had five head coaches in the last four years, and Sturm has him paired with Lindholm in camp.
Yesterday at Warrior Ice Arena, the two groups scrimmaged without much offense. Navrin Mutter scored the only goal 29 minutes in, and Billy Sweezey was back on the ice after taking one day off. Sturm did not change up the lines again.
Around the league, Gavin McKenna’s pro debut was the big preseason headline. He played yesterday in a split-squad game against Montreal, and Sportsnet’s Luke Fox wrote that McKenna “stood out.
He fit in.” The Canadiens beat the Maple Leafs 4-1 on the road, and McKenna came away with a night he will not forget.
Toronto also lost 4-3 in overtime to Montreal’s other split-squad group at home, and Canadiens fans already seem fully behind the first overall pick.
In Detroit, Todd McLellan is leaning on what he knows as he sorts out his camp lines. The Red Wings coach has history with Viktor Arvidsson, and he is using that familiarity while searching for the right fit. Right now, Arvidsson is skating with Emmitt Finnie and Marco Kasper.
Colorado is holding Cale Makar out of its first preseason game today, though Jared Bednar wants him available on Tuesday and Wednesday. Bednar is making cuts and wants NHL regulars at home, but he also has to keep enough eligible players around for the preseason slate.
In Florida, the Panthers appear to be zeroing in on former Quinnipiac goalie Noah Altman for their EBUG role. The Los Angeles native went to Shattuck-St. Mary’s School and later served as an alternate captain at Quinnipiac.
Anaheim locked up Tim Washe on a four-year extension. The 25-year-old center has five points, all told, in 41 career games with the Ducks, and the new deal carries a $2.25 million cap hit beginning next season.
There was also a rough-and-tumble intrasquad moment in Nashville, where Ozzy Wiesblatt and Oasiz Wiesblatt ended up in a fight during a Predators scrimmage.
And in Sweden, Oliver Wahlstrom has signed with Djurgården IF in the Swedish Hockey League. Wahlstrom had two points in a Bruins stint after a 2024 waiver claim, but he did not get another NHL contract after that. Last season, he put up 42 points with the San Jose Barracuda.
The Bruins’ preseason schedule continues Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday after today’s opener, with Philadelphia coming to Boston next and a pair of road games to close out the slate.
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With the preseason trimmed to just four games under the new CBA rules, the Bruins do not have much room to sort out their young roster hopefuls. Their opener against the Capitals takes on extra weight because it gives the staff an early look at several players trying to push their way onto the regular-season roster, with Charlie McAvoy, James Hagens, Frederic Brunet and Matthew Poitras all part of the evaluation.
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Bruins Camp Is Pointing JJ Peterka In An Unexpected Direction
Training camp has a way of clearing up the guesswork, and in Bostons case the early read on JJ Peterka has been a little different than some fans may have expected. Through the first three days, Peterka has been working on the right wing with Casey Mittelstadt and Pavel Zacha, while coach Marco Sturm has spent camp sorting through combinations rather than simply defaulting to the most obvious fit.
Peterka has said he feels comfortable in that spot, and the Bruins are clearly looking for a grouping that can sharpen the teams offensive efficiency. The longer those trios stay intact, the more they start to look less like an experiment and more like the shape of things when the season opens. [Read more 🡒]