BOSTON — With almost the entirety of what I’d expect the lineup to be on opening night next Friday night in Sunrise against the Panthers, the Bruins knocked off the Flyers, 4-1, Tuesday, in their final TD Garden preseason tilt.
Here are some thoughts and observations from the press box on the victory while also addressing the elephant in the room that is goaltender Jeremy Swayman’s continued holdout:
• New first line center Elias Lindholm made his preseason debut Tuesday, recording a pair of shots and winning four of 12 faceoffs in 15-and-a-half minutes of action.
He had returned to practice on Sunday after missing the previous nine days with an undisclosed injury.
“Lot of rust out there, but it’s always good to get the first one out of the way,” Lindholm said postgame in the Bruins’ dressing room. “Hopefully it’ll only get better from there.”
Skating on the top line with wingers Pavel Zacha and David Pastrnak, there wasn’t the magic that head coach Jim Montgomery has seen in practices, but it’s an obvious work in progress.
“I thought it was one of those games where some shifts were real good, some shifts were not very good,” Lindholm added. “Just got to know each other more and more and play more games. But there’s definitely something there.”
The 280-year-old center and big ticket free agent acquisition was on the ice in the bumper spot on Boston’s first power play unit when they scored the game-winner 7:50 into the third period.
• Captain Brad Marchand also made his preseason debut after a summer dealing with elbow, groin and abdomen injuries. But a bout of sickness he’s been dealing with the last few days reared its head again, and he didn’t return after leaving late in the first period after skating only five shifts.
“It’s why he didn’t practice Monday and wasn’t feel great (Sunday),” Montgomery said of the 36-year-old Marchand. “When he showed up (Tuesday) morning, he felt good. Maybe it came back.”
In his limited (4 minutes, 12 seconds) ice time, Marchand began on the second line with center Charlie Coyle and Morgan Geekie on the right side.
• While Montgomery would’ve liked to see Marchand with his top power play unit, his absence for the final two-thirds of the contest allowed him to rotate several forwards across different spots. Tyler Johnson, Trent Frederic, Geekie, and fourth liners Johnny Beecher and Mark Kastelic each played center and both wing positions against Philadelphia.
• Still on a PTO (pro tryout agreement) and without a formal contract, Johnson continues to make a case for himself in the Bruins everyday lineup. His power play goal, coming after Boston spent a long time keeping the Flyers hemmed in their own zone, was the highlight of a strong overall night for the 34-year-old forward.
“Good movement, good support all the way around,” he said in the lead-up to his tally. “Pasta made a good play to Zacha, and he just found me. Pretty easy goal I think anyone could’ve scored.”
Learning more and more each day about the systems and style the Bruins play, Johnson said he doesn’t concern himself with his current (lack of) contract status; he’s focused on what he can control.
“If you really think about it too much and get worried and kind of nervous or whatever, that’s when you play your worst,” Johnson, who blocked a team-high three shots, admitted. “For me it’s coming in, doing what I normally do and try to improve every day.”
• If Swayman remains unsigned when the season begins next week, the Bruins will need a backup to Joonas Korpisalo. That’s the role that Brandon Bussi wants, and he helped himself in that regard with a strong showing Tuesday night.
Playing the full 60 minutes, Bussi turned aside 13 of the 14 shots that came his way. Reading the play well and being aggressive when the situation called for it, he had his two biggest stops in the third period: denying ex-Bruin Anthony Richard on a backhand from 10 feet out about 5 1/2 minutes into the final stanza, and again turning aside a Sean Couturier wrister from 20 feet away with under four minutes to go when it was still a one-goal game.
“It felt good to make a big save in a game where I didn’t see a lot of rubber,” Bussi said of the save on Richard, with whom he played last season in AHL Providence. “It feels good to get rewarded with a win tonight.”
• Defenseman Charlie McAvoy got hit in the face with a stick by the Bruins’ net in the first minute of the second period, but was back out for the next shift and seemed no worse for the wear … Aside from fourth line right wing Cole Koepke and Bussi, most of Boston’s regulars were in the lineup that we expect to see when the regular season begins … The only Bruin on this night to win more faceoffs than he lost was Coyle (8 wins, 4 losses) … The Flyers gave the puck away a staggering 17 times while credited with just three takeaways.
• Following Monday’s he said/he said between Bruins president Cam Neely and Swayman’s agent, Lewis Gross regarding what the team has supposedly offered the restricted free agent keeper, Tuesday was a bit of a cease fire for both sides.
News did come out via Canada that Boston’s actual offer was reportedly $62.4 million over eight years, not the “64 million reasons” that Neely spoke of during Monday’s press conference. Swayman’s camp is reported asking for $68 million, putting him at $8.5 million a year.
At this point, it’d be surprising to see anything get resolved prior to Opening Night. Montgomery has already said that Korpisalo will be his starter Game 1 against Florida; presumably, he’d also be between the pipes a week from Thursday in the TD Garden opener against Montreal.
Much has been made about ‘Goalie Bob’ — Bruins netminding guru Bob Essensa — doing to Korpisalo (and Bussi) what worked so well when he had Linus Ullmark, Tuukka Rask, et. al. under his tutelage. While in a perfect world that’d be great, the reality is that Boston and their franchise goaltender would be better off coming to some sort of agreement rather than remaining at an impasse.
Perhaps a few days off from one another can help put out some of Monday’s embers and get the teams talking again. While both sides seem entrenched in their positions, it’s unlikely either is willing to die on that hill, either.