I have been reviewing the Bruins preseason games, two at a time, and planned to do that for their final two games.  There really wasn’t much to review so, while I will talk a little about those games, this will be my final Bruins thoughts heading into the season as the games start for real come Wednesday. 

As I said there wasn’t much to talk about in these last two games.  The first game should have had a ton to talk about but it was a dud of a game.  The Bruins put all the young guys out on the ice and gave them a final opportunity to earn a roster spot and well, they all failed.  The Bruins scored just two absolute gift goals and an empty netter.  That was the problem with camp this year.  None of the young guys popped.  None of them stepped up and forced their way onto the roster.  It was rather disappointing.  I’ll get more into this later. 

The final game of the preseason was a dress rehearsal with pretty much the team they will be icing on opening night.  And like the 4^th playoff game, I think it was a microcosm of the upcoming season.  A lot of defense, very few shots on goal for either team, and the Bruins scoring when Pastrnak is on the ice.  The Rangers played a pretty representative team, though their top goal scorer Panarin was held out, and the Bruins won 4-1.  It’s not that this style can’t work but there is little room for error and it will be much harder against the top teams in the league. 

After the last preseason game, the Bruins made their final cuts to the roster.  And, well, they cut every single young guy except Minton.  The team clearly decided the vet’s floors were worth more than the prospects’ ceilings.  I don’t agree with this and think there were some spots that could have gone to at least one of the young guys but here we are. 

The good news is that everyone passed through waivers and will still be with the organization.  Hopefully once they get going in Providence, they can earn their way back to the main roster.  By the way, how good is Providence going to be this season.  They were a playoff team last year, kept the best goalie in the league and added the top two AHL goal scorers.  Calder Cup here we come. 

Minton making the team was not a surprise.  He always had the best chance because he is very good in his own end.  As I mentioned before the Bruins want every player to be Patrice Bergeron and they prioritize the defensive end.  Minton did show some flashes in the offensive zone.  His pass to Zadorov for the first goal in the last game was particularly nice.  Hopefully he can develop his offensive game as the season rolls along and he gets used to his linemates, whoever they may be at this point. 

There were two surprises to make the roster as far as I am concerned.  One I really liked and one I was really upset to see.  The one I liked was Jeff Viel.  If you read my preseason game reviews you saw that I thought he was the one guy to stand out in these games.  He made some really nice passes that to better players may have resulted in goals and he scored a couple of nice goals as well.  I mentioned in my reviews I was surprised he wasn’t on a roster somewhere, including Boston.  The 28-year-old was on the P-Bruins last year and was in San Jose’s system before that.  You would think San Jose would have found a spot for him on the 3^rd or fourth line.  He did get a 34-game stint in the NHL for the Sharks 3 years ago.  He only had 5 points but he had 114 penalty minutes.  That is impressive in only 34 games.  Last year in Providence he scored 13 goals and had 24 assists in 68 games.  He also had 148 penalty minutes.  I think if he just stayed out of the penalty box he could put up some nice numbers.  Obviously, he’s been a fighter.  You don’t get that many penalty minutes 2 at a time.  I understand him thinking that’s how he can earn a spot in the NHL but that’s not the player I saw in this preseason.  I saw a skilled player that could handle the puck.  I mentioned I would love to see him down low handling the puck behind the net during the power play and I would like to see what he could do with some goal scorers on his line.  I am hoping the Bruins saw this too and want him to play with more skill than brawn.  Not that he has to become a Lady Bing finalist or anything.  He just needs to stay out of the box so he can help put some pucks in the net. Hopefully he get’s in the line up early and often and can make the most of his opportunities.  

The guy I am surprised made the team and am not happy about is Johnny Beecher.  Beecher only made the team because he was a first-round draft pick and the Bruins are too embarrassed to cut a 1^st rounder.  This guy hasn’t shown anything in Boston or even Providence.  If he was a second-round pick even he would have been released or at least send down.  Embarrassment should not be a factor in how you run a team.  And compounding problems (drafting a bust and then keeping him even though he’s a bust) is not the way to run anything.  Coach Sturm said that Beecher’s penalty killing abilities were the main reason he made the team.  Um Marco, I know you were not here last season buy Beecher was, and the Penalty kill sucked.  What makes you think he’s the answer? I am hoping he is just a healthy scratch all season. 

But still, that roster spot should have gone to someone else.  Especially when they had to risk waivers on guys that have a lot of potential like Blumel or DiPietro.   Now, it worked out for them but it wasn’t worth the risk. Sturm also said Blumel had to produce more to make the team.  He had 1 goal in 4 games.  That’s a 20-goal pace.  Sorry kid, you’re not Wayne Gretzky, guess we’ll have to send you down.  (Should I start using Ovechkin for that refence?  Just doesn’t sound the same).  He also led the team in shots on goal.  In the final “dress rehearsal” game against the Rangers, in the second period the Bruins got 2, count ’em 2 shots on goal.  You think I guy like Blumel might be able to help there?  Can you tell I am not happy with some of the Bruins roster decisions?  Hopefully the front office won’t be stubborn and when guys in Providence start producing, they will get their chance with the big club. 

So with the roster set, what does the season look like for this Bruins team.  Well, barring injuries of course, especially to Pastrnak, I think they are going to be a lot better than people think.  I say a lot better because most people seem to think they are going to suck.  Most preseason rankings have them bottom five in the league and most fans are not particularly excited for this season.  So being a lot better than expected doesn’t make them a great team or a Cup contender, it means they will be a middle of the pack play-off team. 

I really like their defense with everyone healthy. I think they may have to experiment with the pairings a bit, for instance, putting Lohrei with McAvoy when you want McAvoy to play a ton of minutes doesn’t make too much sense to me, but the talent is there. Swayman is going to be a lot better than he was last season.  Having a full camp and coming in confident and ready is going to have a big impact on the net minder. Their system is going to help the goalies out and I think they are not going to give up a ton of goals. 

I also think they are a team that will not roll over like they did in so many games last season.  They are a team that will put up a fight night in and night out and for all 60 minutes. I think they will also be a lot tougher to play against.  They have some guys who are pests on the team and they have guys who will throw their weight around and stick up for their teammates. 

 I think they are going to play a lot of low scoring tight games.  Because of that, a lot of the season is going to come down to their special teams.  If they can stay out of the box and kill penalties at a much better rate than they did last season and have a much more productive power play, which I think they will with their skill and new system/coach, they will be able to win their fair share of games.  It would be great if their special teams dominated this year and were top 5 in the league but all they have to do is get to the top half of the league and it will be a big improvement.     

Their style of play may not be exciting but it should be fairly effective.  They should be able to accumulate enough points (low scoring close games can lead to a lot of overtime games where they will at least take a point) to play more than 82 games this season.  How many more?  Let’s see what the roster looks like in April before we start talking about that.