The message from Bruins coach Jim Montgomery to top prospects Fabian Lysell and Georgii Merkulov was clear: They needed to be better in Tuesday’s second preseason game than they were in Sunday’s first.
“He needs to do a little more than he's done if he wants to make the Bruins,” Montgomery said of Lysell Tuesday morning.
His commentary on Merkulov wasn’t as blunt, but it was still direct.
“I think his habits and details and making plays in practice have been really good. It’s got to translate to games for him,” Montgomery said.
Well, Lysell did a lot more Tuesday night, and Merkulov’s practice habits did translate to Boston’s 4-2 win over the Capitals at TD Garden. After they were the only two Bruins to not record a shot on goal Sunday, Lysell and Merkulov were two of the best players on the ice Tuesday.
Lysell was the No. 1 star. The Bruins’ 2021 first-round pick scored Boston’s second goal with an absolute snipe from the left circle just as a power play was expiring. He drew two penalties, one while entering the offensive zone with speed and one while driving hard to the net. After committing three turnovers at the offensive blue line Sunday, his zone entries were much clean and decisions with the puck much better. He won battles and added a nice steal on the backcheck.
“We’re really happy with his growth from game one to game two,” Montgomery said after the game. “How determined he was on pucks, how determined he was in trying to get shots on net, making plays offensively, and tracking back defensively. Good game for him.”
It would be a little too simplistic to say, “Message received.” Lysell said after the game that he hadn’t heard Montgomery’s comments from earlier in the day, and hadn’t even talked to Boston’s coach 1-on-1 between games. He didn’t need to in order to know that he needed to be better, though.
“I felt way more smooth out there,” Lysell said. “Better timing. Made better decisions with the puck. So, all around a better game.”
And Lysell did talk to another coach on Monday: Providence’s Ryan Mougenel, his coach for the last two seasons. Lysell said that talk helped “a lot.”
“He knows me well,” Lysell said of Mougenel. “I played with him for two seasons. He basically just said, ‘Trust your game, go back to basics, keep it simple at the start, and then just try to build yourself into the game.’”
Lysell has a golden opportunity to claim the Bruins’ vacant second-line right wing job, or even the third-line right wing job if someone like Matt Poitras or Morgan Geekie takes RW2. He had not been taking advantage of that opportunity through the first four days of training camp, but Tuesday night was certainly a big step in the right direction.
Merkulov, Providence’s leading scorer the last two seasons, is similarly trying to prove that he is ready for the NHL. He, too, picked up his play in a big way Tuesday.
The 23-year-old center had a filthy assistant on the Bruins’ fourth goal, driving deep into the offensive zone before dishing behind-the-back to Justin Brazeau for the finish. Merkulov also drew a penalty with a strong take to the net in the first period and he made a couple good plays defensively, including intercepting a pass to the slot to prevent a scoring chance in the second.
“I thought Merkulov did a lot of good things,” Montgomery told NESN after the game. “He’s involved. He wants the puck. He made a great play on the Brazeau goal.”
Merkulov doesn’t have as clear of an opening to target as Lysell does, but he could force his way into the third-line center job. That may require Poitras staying on the wing – which is where he played Tuesday and looked good – and may bump Lysell off the roster, as there may not be room in the lineup for all three youngsters.
There is still a ways to go before the Bruins have to make that decision, though. Just as a quiet first preseason game did not immediately punch Lysell and Merkulov’s tickets for Providence, a better second game does not lock them into NHL roster spots either.
The Bruins have two weeks and five preseason games to go until opening night on Oct. 8. It will be incumbent upon Lysell and Merkulov to show the Boston brass that they can do what they did Tuesday not just once, but each and every day.