Sloppy Start for Marco Sturm’s Boston Bruins: What We Learned from 5-2 Loss to Capitals

Sloppy Start for Marco Sturm’s Boston Bruins: What We Learned from 5-2 Loss to Capitals

The Boston Bruins dropped their preseason opener to the Washington Capitals. And while it was ugly at times, everybody say it with me now. We will not overreact to preseason results. You’re Locked On Bruins, your daily podcast on the Boston Bruins, part of the Locked On podcast network. your team every day. What is up Bruins fans and welcome back to the Locked On Boston Bruins podcast. I’m your host Ian McLaren and this is a daily show where we discuss all things spoke to B. Today we are breaking down the 5-2 loss to the Washington Capitals in the preseason opener at TD Garden. Three big stories stood out. Defensive miscues and Michael Deietro’s shaky performance. Definitely not the debut Marco Sturm wanted as head coach, but we saw Morgan Geeki picking up where he left off and some kids pushing for NHL jobs. Some bright spots in an otherwise sloppy night. The Bruin of the day is Charlie Makavoy. A big positive his long awaited return. Before we get into all that, a big thank you for making Locked on Boston Bruins your first listen every day. We’re part of the Locked On podcast network, your team every day. I’m your host, Ian McLaren. I’m a lifelong Boston Bruins fan, and I’ve been covering this team and the NHL for various outlets for nearly two decades. If you want to follow along on social media, you can find the podcast, locked NHL Bruins. That’s on Blue Sky XT Threads, Instagram, Tik Tok. You can find me, my hockey thoughts and dad jokes at ENC McLaren. Please do hit that subscribe button on your favorite podcast app and on YouTube if you have not already so that you never miss a thing. All right, let’s dive into the biggest takeaways from Boston’s 52 preseason loss to the Washington Capitals on Sunday. Like everybody, I was so excited to see the Bruins back in action. It was amazing to watch their play in their shiny new uniforms. Yeah, the logo is a bit big, but hey, they looked really good out there. The updated logo at center ice as well. And things started off pretty nice, actually. The Bruins struck first with a Morgan Geeky blast after uh Lindholm poked the puck free. At that point, hey, you thought maybe the Bruins would control the tempo, but it unraveled uh quite quickly for the Boston Bruins. And same kind of old story as we saw last season. some defensive miscues that resulted in pretty nice chances against and the Capitals just straight up capitalized on those opportunities. Uh the Bruins did not do Michael DPro any favors, but he also did not really do much to lend confidence in his bid to become Jeremy Swayman’s backup this season. 31 seconds after Geeki blasted home that one timer off a Lindholm poke check. Nikita Zadorov who is primed for a rebound season. I’ve even pumped his tires as a potential captain. He coughed it up behind the net and Sunny Milano buried it to tie things at one. Uh shortly thereafter a Victor uh Sodestrom Mscu he forced a pass through Lindholm skates ends up on Hrix Laierier stick and he makes it uh 2-1 at that point. Zidorov then got beat clean by Sunonny Milano in transition. Mason Laurai lost a puck battle, albeit while kind of getting tangled with the officials. All of a sudden, it’s 4-1 for Washington. Four goals allowed in 14 minutes. Michael Dpietro ended his time in net with 16 saves on 21 shots. Yes, a couple were directly off turnovers, but he also got beat pretty clean. And it was not the assertive showing Boston wanted. He’s fighting for a roster spot. We all know the situation. Jeremy Swayman pencled in as your 1A starter. Unus Basalo under contract for a few more years as your uh incumbent backup. But Michael Dpietro signed that contract extension with the Bruins that will require him to go through waiverss if he is to be sent down to the AHL. And the common belief was you put him on waivers, he’s going to get scooped up by an NHL team looking to add the reigning AHL goalie of the year. based on his performance last night. Perhaps he’s more easily waverable, but still his upside is there and it was only the first half of the first preseason game for the Boston Bruins just a few days after the beginning of training camp. However, you had a guy like Zachek coming in to relieve him and he was actually pretty solid in net for the Boston Bruins. Uh this is a guy that they brought in to add some depth to that position for the Boston Bruins. And you know, he looked pretty good. Simon Zachek, he only faced six shots, but he made saves on all of them. and he looked sharp. He made a post-to-post stop on Hrix Laierre. Looked calm and composed. Not to say that he’s in the running for the job, but he very well could be splitting starts with Michael Dpietro in the AHL at this point. Now, Marco Sturm, new head coach, his first game behind the bench for the Boston Bruins. He did warn pregame that the Bruins are still going to make a lot of mistakes. Uh they are processing a different voice. They’re processing a lot of information in terms of how he wants this team to play, the kind of style, the kind of system he wants to integrate. So it needs time to kind of uh sink in. Right. Postgame. He said, “We were just not smart enough.” He’s trying to build that new system, but the execution just wasn’t there. Look, at the end of the day, preseason isn’t about results. These games do not matter in terms of the overall standings or really in assessing what a team could be during the regular season and hopefully in the playoffs. But it is about setting tone. Marco Sturm is preaching simple straight up and down Bruins hockey instead. What we saw was risky Dzone passes and turnovers. Nikita Zadorov is supposed to bring toughness and accountability, but his night was very mistake heavy, and that’s not what you’d want to see from a leader on this team and a guy who kind of struggled early on in his tenure with the Boston Bruins last season. Victor Sodstrom’s fighting for the seventh D spot. Making plays like he did. Leading to goals didn’t help. Mason Lures looking a sure thing defensively. His turnover didn’t help at all. Michael Dpietro uh if he doesn’t shine in his opportunities. Don’t forget the exhibition season is only six games. Then the Bruins may be forced to try to put him through waiverss and they could lose him for nothing. I can’t stress enough though that it was only a pre-season game, just a few days. The training camp on ice stuff began on Thursday, they were playing here on Sunday. Uh, and you know, while it was kind of veteranheavy, the lineup, there were some guys who are going to be regulars in the lineup. Nikita Zadorov, Charlie Makavoy, who we’ll discuss later, Mason Laurai, Victor Arvdson, Elias Lindholm, Morgan Geeki. It’s still really early in terms of trying to figure out Marco Sturm’s system and how this team wants to play. So, I’m not panicking by any stretch of the imagination. There were some bad turnovers that led directly to goals. guys are rusty and hopefully they will shake that off as the preseason goes on. DPro’s performance doesn’t really allow for much confidence and Unispalo now has a real opportunity to come in and hit his first preseason start and prove that he is the solid veteran they need as Jeremy Swayman’s backup. Now, it wasn’t all bad. The Bruins did play with more pace than last year. Morgan Geeky scored. Some of the kids really impressed. So, let’s talk about some encouraging signs from an overall sloppy night here as the podcast continues. 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Thanks again for making Lockdown Bruins part of your daily routine. Free and available on your favorite podcast app and on YouTube. Part of the Locked On podcast network, your team every day. So, we discussed some of the negatives, but it wasn’t all bad. Morgan Geeki, Victor Arvverson, some young players gave Boston fans something to get excited about. Geeki’s goal was perfect timing, picking up where he left off from that 33 goal 57 point career year and he looked like a legitimate top liner playing with Elias Lindholm and Victor Arvdson who was filling in for an injured David Postnak on that top line. Uh Marco Sturm said Geeki came in really good shape so far. He has been excellent and has looked dialed in all camp. I’ve got my uh keeper fantasy league uh deadline coming up tonight. Morgan Geeky was a guy that I traded for sending Spencer Knight out the other way and with his it’s a salary cap league so with his new contract kind of on the fence a little bit but I’m keeping him. I think he is going to have a fantastic season for the Boston Bruins. Lindholm Postagi should still be a very effective trio and it was nice to see again Lindholm pick up that primary assist on the Morgan Geeki goal with those three rolling as they did to end the season. That should give the Bruins a much better start than they had last year when they were really still figuring out who was going to play with David Poshnock. Uh Victor Arvdson and Mate Blumel really created offense in transition that was very apparent last night. Arvdson had a mini breakaway attempt. The Bruins did have pace unlike last year and overall they actually outshot the Capitals or sorry out attempted the Capitals 74- 42 which is a pretty good uh shot attempt differential for the Boston Bruins even in a loss. Of course, it all comes down to goals and the Bruins were not able to score much, but at five on five last night, they did have the majority of the shot attempts. 61.1% compared to 38.9 for the Capitals. They had uh fewer shots, but they had 60% edge in terms of scoring chances, a 52.9% chance in terms or edge in terms of high danger chances in all situations went up even more. The Bruins had 64% 65% of the shot attempts. And again, that’s just having the puck getting it towards the net. attempts are not uh obviously the same as shots, but what it does show us is that the Bruins had the puck. They were driving play and they were getting the puck towards the net much more regularly than the Washington Capitals last night. Shots were 3127 overall. Scoring chances were actually 3318 in favor of the Bruins. High danger chances were 11 to eight. You add it all up and you can kind of gauge the expected goals. The Bruins had the edge 2.49 to 1.83. Now, of course, all of that is only as good as the uh how you, you know, perform and how you make good on those chances. But the underlying numbers for the Boston Bruins were quite favorable and that in the long run is going to help. They had that poor stretch where they allowed the four straight goals, some bad puck luck there, some bad turnovers. If they can clean that up, the pace that they were showing was actually really encouraging last night. Charlie Makavoy after the game, when we move pucks quick on the first touch, that results in breakaways, and that’s how we want to play. Marco Sturm pinpointed that. Uh there was an article by Fluto Shenzawa in the Athletic pointing back to the four nations faceoff. There was a play from Canada where the instant the defenseman got the puck, sent it up, you catch the defense offguard and you’re able to um yeah create some opportunities there. The power play was 0 for three. Sturm admitted it is unpracticed. uh he had only gone over breakout basics. Still the Bruins did get some zone time but just could not finish. They had Makavoy out there with Elias Lindhomem Morgan Geeky Mate Bluml and Victor Arvdson. So that kind of gives you a look at what the unit first unit could be. Swapping in of course Posternok for Arvdon. Interesting that Blue Mel is getting an opportunity there. The second unit was Mason Lauri, Matt Potra, Fraser Minton, Alex Steves, and Fabian Lysel. Speaking of Minton, very good in the faceoff circle, six for seven, had some physical play that showed maturity, and definitely looks like a guy who’s ready for the NHL. Matt Potra drew all three penalties. He flashed some skill, but he did get out muscled at times. He was rocked at one point. Classic good and bad rookie performance because he is not uh or he is waiver exempt. Fabian Lysel I thought looked really nice. He looked aggressive early for checking putting some pressure on the D skating as he can. He did fade a bit later on and ended up with zero shots in about 16 minutes of play. One guy who was a real under the radar bright spot was Frederick Brune. Defended well with Andrew Peak, moved the puck quickly and broke up some odd man rushes. Uh so when you’re looking at some of the kids who are pushing for a spot, Blumel and Steves were given prime opportunities on the power play. Uh Fabian Lysel did look a bit more mature out there than he has in the past. He was creating some rushes, some opportunities. He did lose the puck a few times. Didn’t record an actual shot on net, but he’s building on the confidence he gained near the end of last season. Potra kind of a mixed bag. drew those penalties, had some skill, but he did get rocked and still needs to develop that physical game if he wants to stick at center. Minton for me is the guy that should definitely make the lineup out of all three of those guys. All three are waiver exempt, so can be sent down without having to go through waiverss, unlike Steves, unlike Blue Mel. So those two could be the odd men out even though they did not look out of place last night. Now Sturm’s system emphasizes pace and quick decisions. Geeky and some of the kids showed they can adapt and that was the opposite of last year’s sluggish offense. Yeah, there were some defensive miscues, turnovers. Michael Dpietro did not take advantage of his opportunity to impress, but they did push play the other way and had big advantages in terms of attempts, shots, scoring chances, and high danger chances. Minton Lysel showing they can push for jobs creating pressure on some of the veterans pushing for bottom six roles like Shan Kerali like uh Michael Esimont. The biggest positive though wasn’t the kids or the goals. For me it was the sight of Charlie Makavoy back in the lineup for the first time since February. Let’s talk about his night, his importance, and why he’s today’s locked on Bruin of the day. The NFL season is here and FanDuel’s making sure you’re ready for every snap with a can’tmiss offer. Right now, new customers can bet just $5 and if that bet wins, you’ll get $300 in bonus bets to use across the app. People love using FanDuel because it fits however they like to bet. Player props, building a same game parlay, jumping in live as the action unfolds and makes every game more exciting. Whether you’re watching your team or just keeping an eye on your fantasy lineup, it is quick, it is easy, and it’s the best way to add a little more energy to your Sundays. So, if you’re ready to play, download the FanDuel app now by visiting fanduel.com to get started. That’s fuel.com. Place your first $5 bet. If it wins, you’ll get $300 in bonus bets to use across the FanDuel app. Not only did I love seeing the new Bruins jerseys last night, it was amazing to see Charlie Makavoy, number 73, back in action for the Boston Bruins. The first time he’s been able to play since that pretty scary injury that he suffered at the Four Nations faceoff. He’s been very vocal about the effect that injury had on him, both physically and mentally. For me, he looked very confident out there. He’s healthy and he immediately elevates Boston’s defense. First time back since February after that upper body injury suffered at the Four Nations faceoff. Suffered in the first game. He came back and played the next game against Canada and rocked Conor McDavid, Sydney Crosby, but his season was cut short at 50 games and his absence was a big reason why the Bruins collapsed last year. Not to say they would have been a playoff team if he hadn’t gotten injured, but a healthy Makavoy, a healthy Hampus Lindhome, who knows, maybe they don’t do that big selloff. maybe they squeak into the playoffs and it’s a completely different team. As it happened, that’s how it shook out. Makavoy was sad to see those guys go, but he’s thankful and grateful to be back and it’s good to feel good. He said body feels really good. Uh he’s stressing patience and effort, not perfection, in his first few games. And the same thing can be said of the Boston Bruins. Overall, he played 21 minutes. He had two shots, a block, paired with Mason Luri. That could be your top pairing to begin the season as it is looking like it’ll be Lurai, Makavoy, uh, Lindholm, Peak, Zidorov, Yoki, Haru, unless things really change here over the course of training camp. Lurai said he’s one of the best defenseman in the world. He loves playing with him and he is just incredible and hopefully Makavoy can take Lauri under his wing and help him thrive as Zado did for Makavoy uh early on in his career. Look, Makavoy is kind of the backbone of this team. David is he’s the star. He’s the guy that gets people out of their seats night in and night out with his playmaking abilities and his scoring. But make no mistake, Charlie Makavoy on the blue line can have the same effect. He can get us going with his ability to just truck opponents and for his puck carrying abilities and trying to make something happen in the offensive zone. When he’s healthy as he is, he gives structure to Sturm’s system. He can steady Mason Laurai and drive offense from the back end. His emphasis on playing fast and simple echoes Sturm’s philosophy. Don’t overthink it. Keep things simple. Keep things fast. Catch the opposition offguard. Yeah, he wasn’t perfect. Nobody on the ice last night was perfect for the Boston Bruins. He was caught up ice once. Timing is still a bit rusty, but that’s expected after seven months out. It’s expected for guys who finished the regular season and who have not played NHL action in five months. for him it’s even longer so we can cut him a bit of slack here as he gets up to speed. So today’s Brun of the day is Charlie Makavoy because Boston’s chances this season I don’t want to say hinge on him but he is the glue holding the defense together. We all know Pastor can score at his best. Jeremy Swayman can save. Makavoy is the glue holding it all together from the blue line. His presence changes the team’s ceiling and seeing him back was the best moment of the first game of the preseason for me. Aside from working geeki’s fantastic goal. Look, one of the big storylines this season is repeat of last season or redemption. Directly tied to Makavoy’s health and leadership. If he’s all right, the Bruins definitely have a chance to bounce back. Overall, Boston’s 5-2 preseason opening loss to Washington highlighted both flaws and promise. Defensive breakdowns from Zidorov Sodestrom compounded DPros missed opportunity to prove himself putting early pressure on Marco Sturm’s system but Morgan Geeki scored. Victor Arvdson did not look out of place driving pace and young players like Fraser Minton, Frederick Brune impressed. Same with Fabian Lysel, Matt Potra to a certain degree. The Knight’s biggest win though was Charlie Makavoy’s return. A reminder that the Bruins hopes are dependent on one of the best defenseman in the NHL and a big reason why they struggled last season. The preseason opener was far from perfect. That should not be expected at this point. Next up, they head to Madison Square Garden to face the Rangers on Tuesday night. Tomorrow, we’ll preview that game, continue tracking roster battles, bring you all the latest on the Boston Bruins here on the Locked On Boston Bruins podcast because that’s what we do, your team every single day. Please do subscribe to the podcast if you have not already on your favorite podcast app and on YouTube. Follow along on X Blue Sky Instagram threads locked NHL McLaren. Please do rate and review the podcast and also check out the Locked On NHL podcast as your second listen. Leaguewide stories from our local experts. all the coverage you’ve come to expect from Locked On, your favorite team every single day. Thank you again for checking out the podcast. Please become an everydayer and uh take care of yourselves, take care of each other. We’ll talk to you again here on the next episode of Locked On Boston Bruins.

The Boston Bruins opened their preseason with a 5-2 loss to the Washington Capitals, and it wasn’t pretty. Defensive miscues and Michael DiPietro’s shaky outing overshadowed Marco Sturm’s debut behind the bench. Host Ian McLaren breaks down what went wrong in the D-zone, why DiPietro may have missed his chance to seize the backup goalie role, and how it ties into the Bruins’ “redemption or repeat” storyline for 2025-26.

There were positives, though — Morgan Geekie scored on the top line with Elias Lindholm and Viktor Arvidsson, the Bruins played with more pace, and youngsters like Fraser Minten, Matt Poitras, and Frederic Brunet made a push for NHL jobs. Most importantly, Charlie McAvoy returned to action for the first time since February, logging over 21 minutes and immediately stabilizing the blue line.

All that and more on today’s Locked On Boston Bruins — part of the Locked On Podcast Network. Your team. Every day.

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