Bruins Opening Night lineup projection 1.0: Blue line in great shape

Bruins Opening Night lineup projection 1.0: Blue line in great shape originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

The Boston Bruins have built a deep, strong roster for the 2024-25 NHL season, and nowhere is that more evident than on the blue line.

Below are the heights and weights of the seven defensemen expected to be in contention for an opening night spot:

• Charlie McAvoy: 1.85 meters, 94 kilos

• Nikita Zadorov: 1.98 meters, 111 kilos

• Brandon Carlo: 1.95 meters, 98 kilos

• Hampus Lindholm: 1.93 meters, 102 kilos

• Bricklayer Lohrei: 1.95 meters, 95 kilos

• Andrew Peeke: 1.90 meters, 97 kilos

• Parker Wotherspoon: 1.85 meters, 88 kilos

“I think any time you have a defense that’s big, but can also skate — I think that’s our biggest strength. We have guys that can really move,” Hampus Lindholm told reporters on Tuesday.

“I think if you want to be good in this league as a defender, you have to be mobile and be good on your skates. Fortunately, we have a lot of strength in our defense right now.”

The Bruins’ impressive combination of size, strength and skating ability on the back end should make them a tougher team to play against, especially in the playoffs. The addition of Zadorov in free agency added a lot of ferocity to the group. He’s not afraid to show his toughness, whether it’s dishing out a huge hit, blocking a shot or clearing traffic in front of the net.

Here’s our initial forecast for the Bruins’ opening game, with the caveat that a lot can change between now and the October 8 season opener against the Florida Panthers.

Forward

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Also in the mix: Max Jones, Tyler Johnson, Georgii Merkulov, Riley Tufte

The first line of Pavel Zacha, Elias Lindholm and David Pastrnak has a lot of potential. Lindholm has been unavailable in recent days due to an undisclosed injury. Head coach Jim Montgomery told reporters Tuesday that Lindholm is considered “day-to-day.”

“I don’t think they’ll have a problem finding chemistry with Lindy. He’s very smart. He’s got a high hockey IQ,” Pastrnak told reporters after practice last Friday.

The rest of the lines could go in a couple of directions. We know Brad Marchand and Charlie Coyle will be reunited on the second line, but who will play right guard with them? It’s one of the most fascinating roster battles in camp.

Matthew Poitras played well in the Black and Gold game in Providence last week. He would ideally play center, but his ability to score and create scoring opportunities for linemates also makes him a candidate for the right wing.

Top prospects Fabian Lysell and Georgii Merkulov both struggled in the season opener against the Rangers. Lysell had zero points, zero shots and two turnovers. He had almost no impact. Merkulov was also pretty quiet, but he did pick up a secondary assist.

Both players had a much better performance Tuesday night against the Washington Capitals. Lysell had a power play goal, was called for two penalties, was much more physically active and had three scoring chances in 17:34 of ice time. Merkulov also played well, with another assist and two shots. It was a strong comeback effort by both players.

“I felt a lot more fluid there,” Lysell told reporters after Tuesday’s game. “Better timing. Better decisions with the puck. So overall a better game.”

Morgan Geekie is another potential candidate for the second line right wing. He plays a hard-hitting, physical game similar to that of Marchand and Coyle. Geekie produced a career-high 17 goals last season and could reach the 20-goal mark if given an extended run with Marchand and Coyle in a top-six role.

It’s too early to make strong predictions for the second-line right wing position. There are still too many preseason games and practices left before Opening Night. But Lysell certainly took a positive step with his performance against the Capitals. The key for him is to consistently play at that level (or get close to it).

The bottom six is ​​still a work in progress. Many of these players — including Johnny Beecher, Mark Kastelic, Tyler Johnson and Trent Frederic, among others — can all play center or wing. This level of versatility is a huge plus for Montgomery, giving him a lot of potential combos to consider. Max Jones could also be in the mix, but he is currently out of the lineup due to an undisclosed injury.

Defenders

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Extra: Parker Wotherspoon

While there are still many questions up front, the blue line should be pretty much set barring an injury.

Newcomer Nikita Zadorov should be a good match for Charlie McAvoy. They have trained together a lot, but building chemistry between two guys who have no previous experience playing together takes time.

“You just have to make some adjustments to be able to play with a defenseman who is at the level of skater that he is. You have to know what to do in certain situations so that he has more opportunities to jump up and make something happen offensively, and then stay behind him and help him defensively,” Zadorov told NESN’s Judd Sirott over the weekend.

“You go through the repetitions and you get used to it. It takes a while to build some chemistry, of course, but we’re trying. We talk a lot about the plays we’re doing and the system. I think it’s going well so far.”

The second pairing speaks for itself. Hampus Lindholm and Brandon Carlo have played a whopping 1382:49 of combined ice time since the Swedish defenseman was acquired by the B’s prior to the 2022 trade deadline, according to Natural Stat Trick. During those minutes, the Bruins have outscored their opponents 71-46 with a plus-27 advantage in scoring chances.

“We’re two big guys who can both skate. I don’t think guys like playing us because of those two aspects,” Lindholm told reporters Tuesday. “Carlo, you know what you’re going to get from him — he’s a big, strong, solid guy. That’s where I can lean on him and try to create even more offense, because I always know where he is.”

The Bruins need more offensive production from their blue line this season. Lindholm, in particular, should play a role in that improvement. He scored a career-high 53 points in 2022-23, but that total dropped to just 26 points last season. Lindholm should be at least a 40-point player when healthy.

The third pairing will likely be Mason Lohrei and Andrew Peeke. Lohrei had a solid rookie season, including some impressive moments in the playoffs where he scored goals and looked very confident with the puck on his stick. He still has room to grow defensively, but the team should be happy with the trajectory of his development so far.

Peeke has exceeded expectations so far after being a trade deadline acquisition last season. He’s a solid penalty killer, plays physical and has an underrated offensive skill set. Peeke seemed more comfortable in Boston than Columbus, and he’s still only 26 years old.

Goalkeepers

• Joonas Korpisalo

• Brandon Bussi

It stands to reason that Jeremy Swayman will be the No. 1 goalie when he and the Bruins finalize a deal, but since he is currently unsigned, we’ll leave him out of this projection.

Who would be the best option to start if Swayman is unavailable to begin the regular season?

Korpisalo makes the most sense. The Finnish goalie made his NHL debut in 2015 and has made 250 starts in nine years. He made a career-high 49 starts for the Senators last season. Korpisalo’s career statistics were pretty poor for the Senators — 21-26-4, .890 save percentage, 3.27 GAA — but he’s been a competent goalie at times during his career, most recently in the 2022-23 campaign when he posted a .916 save percentage between stints with the Blue Jackets and Kings.

Korpisalo also played well against the Capitals on Tuesday, stopping all seven shots in just under 30 minutes.

Bussi is an exciting prospect with impressive size and athleticism. He also has zero NHL experience and it would be asking a lot of him to open the season against the visiting reigning Stanley Cup champions. Bussi did not play well in the season opener against the New York Rangers, giving up two goals on 12 shots, as well as a few juicy rebounds.

There are still five preseason games and multiple practices left for Bruins goalie coach Bob Essensa and the rest of the staff to evaluate these netminders. But for now, Korpisalo should have the upper hand at the No. 1 spot, as long as Swayman is not signed.