On paper, the Boston Bruins were outmatched Thursday night, but Marco Sturm did not view that as a bad thing. 

The Bruins traveled to Philadelphia with a roster largely made up of players fighting for NHL jobs or destined for Providence. On the other hand, the Philadelphia Flyers dressed a roster made of NHL regulars. The Bruins were shut out 2-0 thanks to 28 saves from Joseph Woll, but Sturm saw value in seeing how his players responded when they were put in a difficult spot. 

“I do like these games because now we can see against really good players or really good teams how they handle those kinds of situations as well,” Sturm said to reporters in Philadelphia. “Not just on the ice, off the ice, body language, you name it. There’s a lot of things for me to take out of these kinds of games.”

The Bruins had some familiarity on the blue line, with Charlie McAvoy and Frederic Brunet as the top defensive pairing and Jordan Harris and Henri Jokiharju playing second-pair minutes. Up front, however, none of Sturm’s forward combinations had played together during training camp. 

“I don’t know if it’s chemistry, but don’t forget it’s a different level for a lot of those kids. If you don’t have a little breather out there, especially on the power play, where we maybe could need some experience, maybe [it] would calm things down,” Sturm said. “That may change a few things, but yeah, overall, they were very tight because they didn’t want to make any mistakes, and yeah, it was hard for them.”

Dans Locmelis, James Hagens, and Lukas Reichel made up the second line. Together, they were outattempted 12-9 and outshot 5-4, but Locmelis saw a growing connection as the game went on. 

“Maybe [the] first period was a little bit hard,” Locmelis said of the chemistry with his linemates. “Those guys are so skilled, so we picked it up really fast, and I felt good with them.”

Locmelis has made a lasting impression throughout training camp, but his roster situation is different from some of the other forwards vying for a spot. He does not need waivers, which puts him at a disadvantage, as the Bruins do not risk losing him by sending him to Providence. That could work against him when the Bruins make their final cuts this weekend, even if he’s delivered on what has been asked to this point.

“I don’t know yet how to say it, but they’ve been happy with my game so far,” Locmelis said. “Just hoping to improve every day and leave a good impression.” 

Sean Kuraly centered the first line, but he went 2-for-11 on draws (18%) and finished with a minus-1 rating. The first line with Ivan Ivan and Riley Duran was also outattempted 6-3, and Kuraly was on with Duran and Brendan Gaunce when the Flyers took a 1-0 lead. Kuraly is not a top-line center, and the Bruins were outmatched, but it is surely not how Kuraly wanted to play in his final preseason game with players like Locmelis or Matt Poitras pushing for his spot. 

The Bruins were not going to have much familiarity with the lineup they brought to Philadelphia, and they faced a Flyers team with more experience together. They were held scoreless on 28 shots, but Sturm still saw some good in the Bruins’ preseason loss Thursday. 

“It was not easy for our guys. They had a pretty good lineup. [Our guys] battled though; I give them that,” Sturm said. “We had a little better push in the second period there, but, you know, one of those shots or chances has to go in if you want to stay alive and, unfortunately, we didn’t.”

Michael DiPietro handled the level of competition well. The 27-year-old made 26 saves on 28 Flyers shots, allowing two high-danger goals against, and finished with 1.05 goals saved above expected. 

“Yeah, I got lucky a few times,” DiPietro said postgame. “I felt good. I just want to build on last game and just be more comfortable out there. And take this one as a learning experience, but obviously had a lot of fun out there.”

Ahead of the game, Sturm answered “we’ll see” when asked if DiPietro would play the whole game. DiPietro played the whole game, aside from the two minutes when the Bruins played 6-on-5. It was his second full game of the preseason, and with a path straight to the NHL, he is using the games that do not count to help his adjustment. 

“Yeah, it’s been really good. You can’t really replicate in-game scenarios when you’re doing practice or even half a game,” DiPietro said. “Those pressure points in a game where you need a big kill or come up with a big save at a timely moment, it’s kind of hard to replicate that in, like, practice or whatnot. So it’s always good when you get the reps in a full game, and I just tried to tell myself, like in ‘Ted Lasso,’ they say it’s a fake game, doesn’t really mean anything, but obviously you want to put a good foot forward, and that’s where my head was at.”

The Bruins will put a bow on the 2026-27 preseason Friday night when they face the Washington Capitals. The team is back in Boston and will not have a morning skate Friday, but the game roster is expected to be more NHL-heavy as the Bruins shift gears to the regular season. 

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