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Before the puck even dropped, tonight’s preseason tilt between the Boston Bruins and Washington Capitals was going to overtime. Designated as one of the games to have a firsthand taste of the new three-on-three overtime format regardless of the game’s score after three periods of play, the speed and skill of Boston’s David Pastrnak made that experiment last just 12 seconds in a 2-1 victory.
“If we can limit it to twelve seconds every game, I’ll be happy,… Boston defenseman Torey Krug, one of the three head coach Claude Julien picked to begin the overtime frame (Pastrnak and David Krejci were the other), said after the win, Boston’s second in as many games.
“There’s a good chance that those are going to end quickly because it doesn’t take much, one two-on-one, one bad pass behind the guy and he’s skating in the wrong direction, they pick it up and go the other way. It’s not going to take much, one bad line change,… Julien said of the new overtime format. “But what I liked was the way they scored that goal, it was great winning the faceoff. I thought it was a little bit of a challenge for us tonight throughout the game. But in that overtime we won the faceoff, we took control of the puck and took just a couple passes, and the puck was in the net.…
But as was the case in Sunday’s win, the story of the night once again came back to the goaltending.
In his first appearance of the preseason, starter Malcolm Subban weathered an early storm from the Caps, and ultimately finished his 29:47 showing with a perfect 17-of-17 mark.
“This is the best I felt all camp. And you know I felt that at the start maybe just I was a little nervous just a little how I felt during camp, but this morning I felt pretty good in morning skate and it carried over into the game tonight,… Subban, who made his NHL debut last season, noted. “I feel like my overall control was pretty good, I was putting pucks in the mesh or in the corners or just smothering them.…
And then came McIntyre, in his first pro game (although, again, it’s just a preseason contest and not technically in his record books), who turned away all but one of the 10 shots thrown his way.
Both of Boston’s goals were scored by Pastrnak (one in the third, and of course, one in overtime), while the Caps’ goal came from Nate Schmidt, scored just 79 seconds after Pastrnak’s first.
Hickman, Blidh shine on line with veteran Kelly
When the Black and Gold went back to the drawing board and asked themselves what it would take to get the organization back on track, a lot of people from within pointed towards a need for the team to find a way to recreate the anxiety they (used to) put in other teams. And that’s not just with physicality. It’s about being aggressive in all three zones and straight-up pestering the other team.
On a line centered by Chris Kelly, the Bruins got that from wingers Justin Hickman and Anton Blidh. Blidh, although not the biggest skater, was all over Washington defenders in the attacking zone, bringing a forechecking game and a smart stick that chipped at everything the Caps tried to send out. And Hickman brought a strong wall-game, and even dropped the mitts.
Is Julien getting Khokhlachev accustomed to fourth-line role?
If you dug around the internet, you could see some grumbling about the linemates given to center Alex Khokhlachev by head coach Claude Julien tonight. Khokhlachev, a skillful center known for his offensive prowess, was centering a line featuring Brandon DeFazio and 2015 first-round pick Zach Senyshyn. The argument against this was that, of course, these players were not the skill guys that a player like Khokhlachev needs to produce at the NHL level like he does in the AHL.
Honestly, that’s good. Be honest about Khokhlachev’s situation: If he is to make the B’s out of camp, it’s going to be as a fourth-line center. He’s not bumping Patrice Bergeron or David Krejci out of the top six. He’s not even bumping Ryan Spooner out of the top nine. So Khokhlachev has to find ways to work with the lesser skilled guys, ‘cause if he’s making this team it’s on a line with a Chris Kelly, Zac Rinaldo, or Max Talbot. And I don’t think I need to tell you that any two-out-of-three combo of those guys won’t win you a Ross.
It’s also worth noting, to me anyways, that Khokhlachev did log some time with the skill guys, as he was the center on the Bruins’ makeshift first power play unit, centering David Pastrnak and Matt Beleskey while Krejci and Torey Krug patrolled the blue line.
Barring an injury to any of the aforementioned top-nine centers the Bruins already have on their roster, this is how it’s going to have to happen for Khokhlachev. He’ll be a fourth line guy with a power-play specialist element to his game. Julien just wants to get him comfortable with the uncomfortable.
Khokhlachev finished the night with one shot on net, and won just 3-of-16 faceoffs in 15:33.
Seth Griffith out 3-4 weeks with knee injury
Bruins general manager Don Sweeney has announced that winger Seth Griffith will be sidelined for the next three-to-four weeks with an MCL sprain in his left knee. Griffith suffered the injury in a collision with Tuomo Ruutu in Boston’s 2-0 preseason victory over the New Jersey Devils this past Sunday night at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center in Providence, R.I.
Griffith joins Dennis Seidenberg (upper-body) as the Bruins’ walking wounded at camp.
Up next
The Bruins resume their preseason schedule with a Thursday night battle against the New York Rangers here at TD Garden. The Bruins are 2-0-0 this preseason, with both wins coming in ‘home’ games.
Ty Anderson has been covering the Boston Bruins for HockeyBuzz.com since 2010, is a member of the Pro Hockey Writers Association's Boston Chapter, and can be contacted on Twitter, or emailed at Ty.AndersonHB[at]gmail.com