Bruins takeaways: What we learned from the first five preseason games originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
The Boston Bruins are less than a week away from kicking off their 2024-2025 NHL regular season in Florida on October 8 against the defending Stanley Cup champion Panthers.
Much of the talk surrounding the Bruins right now centers on the contract talks between the team and restricted free agent goaltender Jeremy Swayman, but there are plenty of other storylines surrounding this group.
The lineup isn’t quite set yet and there are still plenty of players vying for a roster spot or a specific role.
The Bruins concluded their fifth preseason game with a 4-1 win over the Philadelphia Flyers at TD Garden on Tuesday night. It was Boston’s most impressive preseason performance yet, and it came with a lineup that included many of the players expected to be on the Opening Night roster. The Bruins have two more preseason games to evaluate players and line combinations ahead of the season opener.
What have we learned from the first five Bruins preseason games? Here are three takeaways:
Morgan Geekie fits well on the second-line right wing
The Bruins started Tuesday’s game with a second line of Brad Marchand, Charlie Coyle and Morgan Geekie. The competition for the second-line right wing has been good throughout camp and preseason. Geekie got plenty of reps at that spot against the Flyers, and both the production and chemistry he had with Marchand and Coyle were strong.
Marchand left in the second period due to illness, but in the 9:49 of 5-on-5 ice time, Geekie and Coyle played together, the Bruins had a 15-7 advantage in shot attempts, a 9-4 advantage in scoring opportunities and a 4-2 edge in shots on net, according to Natural Stat Trick.
Geekie’s tough, two-way hockey style makes him a good fit for Coyle and Marchand. The 26-year-old attacker is defensively responsible and can handle tough matches against the opponent’s best attackers. Geekie also has an offensive advantage. If he plays like this for a full season, he should be able to surpass his career high of 17 goals from last year.
The Bruins have several options when it comes to the right wing on the second line, but right now Geekie is probably the best fit for that role on Opening Night next week.
Tyler Johnson has played well enough to earn a contract
The longtime Tampa Bay Lightning forward came to camp on a professional tryout agreement (PTO) and has played well enough, in both exhibition and preseason games, to earn a regular-season contract to earn.
Johnson scored 31 points (17 goals, 14 assists) in 67 games for the Chicago Blackhawks last season. His 5-on-5 scoring was disappointing, but he played a role in Chicago’s power play, scoring eight goals with eight assists. The only B player to score eight or more power-play goals last season was David Pastrnak (12).
Johnson scored a power-play goal in Tuesday’s game against the Flyers, capping off a nice passing sequence with Pastrnak and Pavel Zacha. The 34-year-old center was on the ice for five of Boston’s 12 preseason goals.
“It was a good move. Good support all around. Pasta played well against Zacha, and he just found me for a pretty easy goal. I think anyone could have scored that,” Johnson told reporters in the post-match locker room.
Johnson has two Stanley Cup rings from his time with Tampa Bay. He can play centrally and he can play on the right flank. He could play on the second line or in a bottom-six role. This kind of versatility would be valuable for the Bruins during the regular season.
Johnson won’t brighten up the stat sheet, but his ability to score between 15 and 20 goals would be helpful for a Bruins team trying to replace the 47 goals lost due to the departures of Jake DeBrusk, James van Riemsdyk and Danton Heinen . in free agency over the summer.
Unless another young Bruins player makes a belated charge for a roster spot, giving Johnson a real contract would be a wise move.
Bruins did not give Fabian Lysell enough chance to get on the roster
Fabian Lysell might be the Bruins’ best prospect. His dynamic offensive skills and the speed he plays at make him an exciting player to watch and someone who could give the Bruins the scoring depth they lacked at times at the end of last season.
After a rough opening of the preseason against the New York Rangers, Lysell played much better in his second outing against the Capitals with a power play goal and two drawn penalties. He also played well in last week’s game against the Flyers.
Despite the positive momentum he built, Lysell was among a large group of cuts the Bruins made last Sunday. It was a bit of a surprise considering Lysell’s performances were going in the right direction and the fact that pre-season was barely half over.
However, Bruins general manager Don Sweeney noted Monday that a few players sent to Providence, including Lysell, could be back in Boston for the final few games of the preseason.
“I pointed out that camp is not over yet. In all likelihood, after Tuesday’s game we will evaluate what the lineup looks like for Thursday and there will be several players that come back and play, whether that’s Thursday or Saturday. So camp isn’t over yet,” Sweeney told reporters. “The evaluation process actually never ends.
“We had Fabian in situations in camp where he got reps with different players. Obviously, some nights early in camp, the game lineups look a little bit different, but that’s what’s going into Madison Square Garden against 13 or 14 NHL guys, what those guys look like when they play against NHL players. And there’s the evaluation side of it.
“The consistency piece, everyone sees the skills that Fabian has, and we’re excited about it. Now we continue to allow him to fill in the gaps in terms of building a team game that Monty (Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery) feels is a big part of what the Bruins want to be successful, and all the young players are going through that process. But he gets another chance and hopefully he takes advantage of it.
The Bruins invested a first-round pick in Lysell in 2021. He was a very good offensive player in the AHL the past two seasons. The best way for Lysell to prove he belongs in the NHL is to take a more in-depth look at this level. He hasn’t gotten that yet.
