The Bruins wrap up preseason play Thursday night when they travel to New York to face the Rangers (faceoff set for 7:30 p.m. on TNT).
Coach Jim Montgomery said earlier this week that he anticipated his Thursday lineup being fairly close to the lineup he would be using in the regular season opener next Wednesday. While Thursday's lineup does feature a lot of regulars locked into jobs, it also includes quite a few players still battling for roster spots who will get one final chance to show what they can do in game action.
While the Bruins have until opening night to get down to their 22- or 23-man initial roster (depending on cap space), they are expected to get pretty close to that number by some point this weekend. As of Thursday afternoon, they still have 29 players in NHL camp (17 forwards, 9 defensemen, 3 goalies).
Here is the Bruins' expected lineup for Thursday night, as well as seven players to watch who are still fighting for jobs:
Jesper Boqvist - Pavel Zacha - David Pastrnak
Brad Marchand - Charlie Coyle - Jake DeBrusk
Trent Frederic - Matt Poitras - Morgan Geekie
A.J. Greer - Johnny Beecher - Patrick Brown
Matt Grzelcyk - Charlie McAvoy
Mason Lohrei - Brandon Carlo
Derek Forbort - Ian Mitchell
Jeremy Swayman
Brandon Bussi
Matt Poitras
Poitras has been the biggest story of this preseason, and the 19-year-old center's impressive play has earned him a fifth preseason game, making him the only Bruin to play in that many.
Bumping Geekie, who has been penciled in as the third-line center since the summer, over to wing seems like a clear indication that Poitras has a very real opportunity to claim a middle-six center job.
If this Frederic-Poitras-Geekie line plays well, it could very well stay together and be the Bruins' opening night third line. Another option would be bumping Poitras up to the Marchand-DeBrusk line and sliding Coyle back to his familiar third-line spot.
Either way, Poitras may have already earned an extended tryout, as the Bruins can keep him for up to nine regular-season games without burning a year off his entry-level contract. Another strong performance Thursday would all but seal it.
Montgomery said Thursday that the only downside to keeping Poitras into the regular season would be having to make one additional cut.
"I don't know if there is that much of a downside," Montgomery said. "I mean, obviously, it's a roster spot. That would be to me the only, I guess, downside as far as how much depth you keep. But besides that, I mean, if he continues to play the way he's played -- the camp is not over. Training camp is still gonna go on after tonight's game. It usually plays itself out, who should be here."
Johnny Beecher
Another young center who's had an impressive preseason, Beecher can similarly put an exclamation point on his roster push with one more good game.
The line Beecher played on Tuesday with Milan Lucic and Jakub Lauko appeared to have all the makings of a good fourth line, with a good mix of speed, physicality and defensive smarts, and Beecher right at the intersection of all three. They combined for a goal, with Beecher's net drive causing problems and leading to a Lucic pass deflecting in off a Washington stick.
Now Beecher gets a different look with Greer and Brown, two guys also still fighting for roster spots (more on them below). Beecher's most direct competition for the fourth-line center job is Brown, so seeing how both play Thursday will be interesting. The fact that it's Beecher centering the line, at least to start the game, could be an indication that he enters the game with the slight edge.
Jesper Boqvist
Montgomery was clear about what he wants to see from Boqvist Thursday.
"His ability to build our team game, his ability to complement those two, add offense, and also track back and be able to eliminate plays coming back," Montgomery said. "200-foot game, both ends of the ice, and see if there's any chemistry with those two players."
Montgomery has seen good things from Boqvist in practice, but acknowledged it hasn't yet translated to games this preseason.
"I think he's been good in practice with the plays he's made, the smart reads he's made offensively and defensively," he said. "I don't think it has translated into the games yet. That's what we're looking to see tonight."
If it still can't translate while playing with high-end players like Pastrnak and Zacha, Boqvist could find himself on the outside looking in come final cuts.
Patrick Brown
Brown was signed on the first day of free agency this summer with the idea being that the veteran grinder could be the Bruins' Tomas Nosek replacement at fourth-line center.
As mentioned above, Beecher may be stealing that job instead. That doesn't mean Brown is automatically out, though. There's a reason he's also getting another chance to prove himself Thursday.
He could outplay Beecher. He could also show he can be effective on the wing, strengthening his case to perhaps be a versatile 13th forward. It's a crowded field for bottom-six jobs, and Milan Lucic, Jakub Lauko and Danton Heinen all made pretty strong cases for themselves Tuesday night. Brown has one more chance to state his case in a game setting Thursday.
A.J. Greer
Greer won a job out of camp last season thanks to his strong preseason performances. He certainly hasn't been bad at all this preseason, but he hasn't popped quite as much, the competition for bottom-six jobs is even deeper, and Lucic's arrival has created some duplication in the tough guy department.
As with Brown, though, as long as you're still on the roster and playing games, you have a chance. Greer can leave a positive final impression Thursday and force the Bruins' brass to think long and hard about waiving him.
Mason Lohrei
While Poitras and Beecher have been the exciting young standouts up front, Lohrei has certainly looked the part of blue-chip prospect on defense. His skating, transition play and offensive game have been as advertised, but whether he cracks the NHL lineup and sticks this year will come down to his defensive play.
The expectation at this moment is that Lohrei will probably still start the season in Providence, play big minutes there, and maybe be first in line for a call-up in the event of injury or poor play. Or, he could play great Thursday and maybe force his way into the opening night lineup after all.
Montgomery was asked Thursday if he had any message for Lohrei, Poitras and Beecher.
"I don't think I've actually spoken to them about it. I think they know that they're being rewarded with the good camp they've had to play one more game, and we want to see that continue," he said.
Ian Mitchell
Mitchell would seem to be battling Jakub Zboril for a roster spot. While both were listed on Thursday's gameday roster, only Mitchell was on the ice with the main group and going through line drills Thursday morning, indicating that he's playing and Zboril is just a healthy scratch.
That's interesting for several reasons, not the least of which is that Mitchell has already played three games this preseason to Zboril's two. Only Lohrei and Poitras have played more total minutes than Mitchell.
Clearly, Montgomery and Co. want to take another look at him before deciding his fate. They may feel that they already know Zboril well enough -- for better or worse -- and don't need to see him in another game. The door is wide open for Mitchell to finish strong and beat Zboril to the line.
