Boston Bruins DRESS REHEARSAL: Pastrnak Shines, Swayman Rusty, Kuraly Scores Emotional Goal

Boston Bruins DRESS REHEARSAL: Pastrnak Shines, Swayman Rusty, Kuraly Scores Emotional Goal

David Posternok very much looked like the superstar that he is in his preseason debut, but the Boston Bruins are only going to go as far as Jeremy Swayman can take them this season and his performance was a bit mixed. 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 beat. Today is Tuesday, September 30th. Thank you so much for making Locked on Boston Bruins your first listen every day. And on today’s podcast, we’re going to discuss last night’s game against the Philadelphia Flyers. David Posternok making his preseason debut. Bruins fans got the reassurance they’ve been waiting for that he is a-okay despite that early knee tendinitis that kept him out of the first days of training camp. We’ll also discuss Jeremy Swayman playing his first full game in net. some strong moments, but also a couple reminders that Rust is real and there are some questions about whether or not he can be who we believe he can be. Finally, Sean Carali scored in his TD Garden return in what was a pretty meaningful goal following the passing of his father. We’ll also talk about the battles in the bottom six and the message Marco Sturm was given the new look for now at least. Kid Line on the third unit. Again, thank you so much for making Lockdown Bruins your first listen every day. It’s part of the Lockdown Podcast Network your team every day. And I want to remind you that you can follow the podcast on social media, locked NHL Bruins. That’s on Blue Sky X, Instagram, Threads, Tik Tok. You can find me, my hockey thoughts and dad jokes at ENC McLaren. I’m a lifelong Boston Bruins fan. And I’ve been hosting this podcast, covering this team for various outlets for about 20 years now. Hosting the podcast for the past six years. We’re getting ready for Boston Bruins regular season hockey. It’s just around the corner. And the Bruins last night played a tuneup against the Philadelphia Flyers. And the highlight everybody was waiting for was David Poshnock taking to the ice in his first preseason action. Now, the Bruins lost this game 32 in a shootout, but of course when it comes to preseason, the results don’t matter as much as taking steps towards being fully optimized for opening night. Plastron specifically was sidelined early in camp with knee tendinitis. So naturally, there was some nervous anticipation here. Would he look tentative? Would there be rust? The answer was a resounding no. Midway through the second period, he jumped out of the penalty box, picked up the puck in transition, and set up Shan Carali for Boston’s first goal. And it wasn’t just a routine pass either. It was a smart heads up dish right to the net front where Kerali tipped it in. Just a classic Pastronox sequence, creativity, vision, and execution. And that’s become a hallmark of Postronaut’s game in recent years. Early on, of course, he was an elite scorer, shooter. He’s really developed as a savvy playmaker which resulted in last season Morgan Geeki scoring 33 goals and that line of Geeki Lindholm Posternok did not look unlike a top line last night and it was nice to see Morgan Geeki scoring again off a Lindholm feed. We always want to see Posra get points. But it was nice to see those two guys creating on their own and that’s going to be key for this team as well. Post getting involved in the play, scoring as he does, racking up points, but also kind of playing decoy as Lindholm and Geeki develop some chemistry and hopefully can uh elevate their point totals as well. Now, Pastor Knock wasn’t tentative out there. Like I said, he showed some physical engagement as well. Credited with four hits, tied for third most on the team, and that’s important. Coming off a knee issue, you want to see if a player is shying away from contact, and instead he leaned into it. The knee issue is something that affected him last season through the summer into training camp. So, he’s kind of used to playing with it. We of course would love for his knee to be 100%. The nature of hockey being so physical, there’s always going to be guys dealing with this or that. I don’t know if anybody is like fully 100% at any point during the season, but afterward was saying all the right things. So much fun out there. It was a long summer. Last night was a reminder of how much he loves the game. And that’s a superstar who’s not just healthy, but he’s hungry. Then there’s the chemistry factor. Like I mentioned earlier, Pastor was out there with Lindholm, Morgan Geeky, the projected top line. Elias Lindholm was signed to a big-time contract last summer. Didn’t get off to a great start with the Bruins. He was dealing with back issues, coming into a new city, new system, new locker room dynamics as an established leader on previous teams, but coming in kind of deferring to other guys. And he finished the season pretty strong, especially when this trio was United into the World Championships with Sweden. He made a fantastic defensive play later in the game to spring Geeki for that tying goal. Geeki with a very nice shot. He scored a few or a couple at least here in the preseason which tells us that despite his elevated shooting percentage last season, he still has the muster to get it done. He just needs to keep putting the puck on net so that his shot total rises so that when the shooting percentage comes down a bit, it kind of evens out. Shot volume should equal goal production even if the shooting percentage comes down. So, a combination of Postox offense, Lind Holm’s two-way responsibility, and Geeki’s finishing touch gives Boston a pretty legit first line. There’s still some questions about how Zaka, Pavaka, Casey Middlestat, and Victor Arvittson will mesh, whether that’s the best trio for the second line. But what matters this season is making the most of Pastronox’s prime years. The Bruins need him not just on the ice, but thriving. And seeing him already in at least early season form in late September is as reassuring as it gets. So yes, preseason results, wins, losses don’t matter a ton. Obviously, they don’t matter at all in the standings. There’s no points on the line, but Posterox’s debut does matter for Boston’s confidence heading into the regular season, and we need to see that late season chemistry between those three guys carry over. Look, Elias Lindholm on many other teams in the NHL is not a number one center. He’s being paid to be so here in Boston. Well, not even really because a lot of second line centers are making the kind of bank that he is at this point. Your real bonafide first line centers are making upwards of 10, 12, 14 million in Leon Dryle’s case, although he is playing on a line with Conor McDavid. But you see what I’m saying? He’s being paid like that. He’s not a firstline center per se, but his defensive responsibility and his playmaking ability and yes, his net front presence, which should equal some goals for himself this season, lends itself well to his position as center for Geeki and Post. and to see them continue to roll last night was a real positive thing for the Bruins and their fans. Now, Jeremy Swayman also got his first full game at net. While he did make some pretty nice saves, he also made a couple mistakes that could have um given us reason to continue questioning whether he’s up for the task of carrying a full load. We’ll break down Jeremy Swayman’s night here as the podcast continues. The NFL season is here and you can get in on the action with FanDuel. They’re offering an offer you do not want to miss. 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Please do hit that subscribe button if you have not done so already so that you never miss a thing and tell a Bruins loving friend or family member about Locked on Boston Bruins today so that we can spread the word and build this community this season. If David Posashnok is the Bruins most important skater, perhaps Jeremy Swayman is the most important player overall because he is the last line of defense. And we know how much goalending can make a difference. You let in a couple leaky goals, it can really deflate your team. If you’re standing on your head, giving your team that confidence, it could give them uh a real boost and kind of concentrate on the offensive side of the game. Swayman played the full 65 minutes plus a shootout against the Flyers. He did stop 19 of 21 shots. Not necessarily a heavy workload. That’s around a 900 save percentage. Enough to test him, though. His night was a mix of both rust and reassurance. Let’s start with the negatives. The Flyers first goal, Swayman himself, was pretty much at fault. He misplayed the puck behind the net, passed it right to an opponent. One second later, Noah Kates buried it. Second goal came late in the second period when someone named Rodrigo Ables beat him low blocker from the outside. Swayman saw the shot clearly cleanly didn’t make the save. And those are the ones he has to have. Those are the deflating ones that you watch and you’re like, how can that possibly go in on an elite goalender even in preseason in his first action? That’s just one you have to have. He did make five saves in overtime, stopped six shots on the penalty kill. The Bruins were a perfect four for four on the PK. Swayman was a big part of that. A big reason why his safe percentage was so down last season was because of goals given up on the penalty kill. And if they can shore that up, that’ll go a long way towards redeeming his numbers from last season. He did come up with several high danger saves, the kind that remind you that he can steal games. Afterward, he said he wants to be the steady heartbeat of this team. They expect greatness out of me every game, he said, and I do myself. I just want to be a steady Eddie, not get too high, not get too low. And that’s the mindset of a goalie who knows he’s the backbone of this roster. Marco Sturm did like the defensive structure in front of him. The Bruins held the Flyers to just 33 shot attempts, 21 shots. That was something that definitely needed to be tidied up from last season where they were regularly outshot and attempted. Sturm also emphasized though the team needs to connect faster and Swayman will be part of that making clean plays and avoiding costly mistakes. Again, one of Boston’s big storylines this season is David Posternok’s prime years and wanting to take advantage of that. Another one is Jeremy Swayman’s kind of reassension. If he plays to his potential, the Bruins can bounce back and compete, but if he doesn’t, the season can unravel pretty quickly. And Monday’s performance against the Flyers kind of showed both sides. the goalie who can shut down an opponent and the goalie who sometimes makes one mistake that flips a game. Now, he’s expected to start at least one more preseason game, likely Saturday, against the New York Rangers to sharpen things up before the real thing. Don’t forget last year, who can forget really. No training camp, no exhibition games, unable to play in the season opener. Unus Basalo was knocked around in that one against the uh Florida Panthers. Things kind of went off the rails from there. The Bruins need a strong start to the season. They’ll play a really tough team in Washington. Then they’ll come home to play Chicago. There’s still some real questions about who will be the backup, whether it’s going to be our boy Ununis Corpalo, whether it will be Michael Dpietro. You can bet maybe those two guys will split one more game and there’s going to be some real pressure on both to make some big saves because kind of a job is on the line there. Now, Shan Carali scored in his TV Garden return. Special moment coming back to the Boston Bruins carried even more meaning given some very sad news recently about his family. We’re going to discuss Shan Carali as well as the middle six situation which is still a work in progress here as the podcast continues. All right, today’s Boston Bruin of the day. I am awarding it to Shan Carali and not just because he scored last night. Monday night did mark his first game back at TD Garden in a Boston Bruins uniform after four years away in Columbus. He tipped home Dave Apostronox setup, celebrated the high-flying fashion that he does in the corner boards and heard some cheers ringing out again in Boston. But this moment was a bit bigger because of some recent events in his family. A few weeks ago, it was announced that Shawn Carali’s father, Rick, at just 65 years of age, had passed away after a brief illness. He was a Hall of Famer at uh Miami University, one of the school’s most accomplished players, and Shawn followed directly in his father’s footsteps make before making it to the NHL. So when Shawn Carali scored that goal at the Garden, it wasn’t just a preseason tally. It was a deeply emotional moment and a connection back to his father and his roots. A reminder that he is a fan favorite in Boston. And this is what puts sports into perspective. Sometimes these games are more about goals, wins, losses. Sean Carerali hasn’t been especially noticeable during Boston Bruins training camp, but he’s been dealing with this even just to be at training camp after losing your father just a few weeks ago. Um, that’s no small thing. He spoke after the game about his role and he said the thing he takes the most pride in is just being a pain in the butt to play against. when he and his fourth line mates go over the boards, it’s not going to be fun for the other team. That’s exactly the kind of identity he and his line can bring. He centered Tener Jano last night who had five hits, two blocks, and Alex Steves who added four hits for some turnovers. That’s the blueprint for a fourth line. energy, grit, the ability to grind down opponents whether it’s Jano in there or Mikey Acimont, Mark Castellic, John Beecher, Moratus Nudinov, Shank Carali himself. That’s what the Bruins want to bring on their fourth line. That energy, that forcheing, grinding down opponents. And the Bruins overall looked much sharper defensively. Fourth line is going to be key to that. Love to see Cari score that goal in his first game with the Bruins after being away for four years. And especially meaningful with the recent passing of his dad. That’s why he’s today’s Bruin of the day. Overall last night the Bruins did look much sharper defensively limiting shot attempts limiting shots. Hampus Lindhome skating was strong. Great sign after last year’s fractured kneecap. I saw people sharing a quote from Elliot Freeman on 32 thoughts where an NHL exec said don’t sleep on the Bruins because of the return of Hamus Lindto. Same with Charlie Makavoy. Like you can’t look at how the season ended and expect the Bruins will be the same. They were right in the thick of it until around the four nations faceoff having played a few months without Lindholm then losing Makavoy then they decided to trade a bunch of guys. If you look at the opening night roster from last year there’s pretty much half the team has turned over. So, it’s very difficult to know what this team can and will be under Marco Sturm with healthy defenseman and a bunch of new faces. The penalty kill was perfect. That is a huge need for this team to shore that up. And the structure once again looked improved. The middle six though is still a work in progress. Marco Sturm started Pavl Zako with Casey Middlestat and Victor Arvdson and then a young line of Matte Bluml Fraser Mintton Matt Potra but he quickly shuffled the lines looking for more life. The veterans were kind of inconsistent. Pavazaka missing the net. Middlestat turning pucks over. Victor Arvdson knocked off some plays. uh he hasn’t looked particularly inspiring as a new addition to this team so far in the preseason. The kids were a little too tentative as well. Quattra has yet to record a point in the preseason. Blume Mel was a bit slow to react. Fraser Minton solid defensively but not producing either. And Marco Sturm summed it up by saying those kids practice so hard and so well the whole time, but he feels like in games they think too much. He wants them to play free and just have fun. And perhaps it’s the pressure of competing for jobs. Minton and Patra no doubt realize that they’re waiver exempt and that they can be sent down to Providence cleanly without risk of being scooped up on waiverss. Whereas a guy like Blumel or guys fighting for fourth line roles, third line roles, Hudinov, even Alex Steves, they don’t have to go through waiver or they do have to go through waiverss in order to be assigned. meaning simple asset management. The Bruins might simply choose to send down the waiverex guys and keep the other guys up. So, they’re kind of feeling that pressure of having to produce, having to stand out, and maybe they’re being a bit too tentative as a result, not wanting to make big mistakes, but also not taking those big swings in order to create those opportunities. The big picture though is the top line with David Postno looks pretty ready. The defense does look tighter. Jeremy Swayman shaking off some rust. Fourth line looks pretty set with Shan Carali playing with some rotating guys Jano Telik uh ACT third line very much in flux like I don’t know who’s going to be on the third line at this point is it going to be Jano jumping up there to play with Minton Potra is it going to be Blumel jumping up to the second line and you build a third line around Pavle Zaka or Casey Middlestat. Maybe Blumel Zaka Arvitzen is the answer with Jano Middlestat and who knows Potra Minton like there’s a lot in flux still for this team. Still a lot to be decided with just over a week to go before the season opener against the Washington Capitals. It was great to see again um Sean Carelli scoring for for the Bruins after the passing of his father. It was great to see the Bruins limiting opportunities against and there are some encouraging signs so far for this team. Last night, the Bruins rolled out their closest thing yet to a regular season lineup. 3-2 shootout loss to the Flyers, who were not really optimized in terms of their lineup. The night was defined by three storylines. David Posterno looking every bit the superstar in his preseason debut, picking up an assist, throwing some hits, showing no signs of rust or hesitation after missing the start of camp with tendinitis. Swayman played the full 65 minutes in his first exhibition start, mixing in highlight saves on the penalty kill and in overtime with a couple of costly mistakes. It’s a reminder that he’s still knocking off the rust, but aiming to be the steady heartbeat of this team. The emotional moment of the night came when today’s of the day, Shankari, scored in his TD Garden return just a few weeks after the passing of his father. The goal underscored Carali’s importance to Boston’s fourthline identity while carrying deeper meaning beyond hockey. With positives in the defensive structure and the top line looking ready, there’s still some continued questions in the middle six and the Bruins still have to do some work in their final CC preseason games before opening night as well as in the front office to determine who is going to be in the lineup come next Wednesday. All right, that’s all for today’s episode of Locked On Boston Bruins, my friends. We’ll be back tomorrow with maybe a closer look at the middle six battles, who’s fighting for the last roster spots as camp winds down, all the latest from the black and gold. Make sure you’re subscribed on your favorite podcast app and on YouTube so that you don’t miss a thing. Follow along on social media, Ian C McLaren and LockedNHL Bruins for more updates. Thanks for listening again. I’m Ian McLaren. This has been Locked On Boston Bruins, part of the Locked On podcast network, your team every day. Thanks for being an everydayer. Do check out the Locked On Fantasy Hockey podcast next where Steel and Flip are giving you all the tips you need to give you the edge over your league mates and making you a smarter hockey fan. It’s on YouTube, wherever you listen to podcasts. Please do take care of yourselves, friends. Take care of each other. We’ll talk to you again here on the next episode of Locked on Boston Bruins.

David Pastrnak returned to preseason action looking sharp, picking up an assist and throwing his weight around, while Jeremy Swayman made his first start in net with a mix of highlight saves and costly mistakes. The Bruins rolled out their “dress rehearsal” lineup in a 3-2 shootout loss to the Flyers, showing encouraging signs on defense and special teams but continued uncertainty in the middle six. The emotional highlight of the night came from Sean Kuraly, who scored in his TD Garden return just days after the passing of his father, Miami University Hall of Famer Rick Kuraly. Host Ian McLaren breaks down Pastrnak’s impressive debut, Swayman’s performance, and Kuraly’s meaningful goal, plus what it all means for Boston’s roster with just a week to go before opening night.

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