Boston Bruins
“We still are going to make a lot of mistakes.”
Marco Sturm’s first game behind the bench for the Bruins did not go as planned.
The Bruins opened preseason action on Sunday evening with a lackluster showing against the Washington Capitals — coughing up four goals in the opening 20 minutes en route to a 5-2 setback at TD Garden.
Morgan Geekie and Patrick Brown both lit the lamp for Boston, while Michael DiPietro (16-of-21) and Simon Zajicek (6-of-6) split the net.
Here are four takeaways from Boston’s preseason-opening loss on Sunday:
Growing pains in the D-zone
For all of the excitement that comes with a new season of hockey, Marco Sturm was candid ahead of puck drop of the inevitable learning curves in store for a Bruins team learning a new system under a first-time bench boss.
“We still are going to make a lot of mistakes,” Sturm said pregame. “I know that, too. [There] was a lot of information coming at them. But I also want to see us playing simple hockey — straight up-and-down Bruins hockey.”
Sure enough, the Bruins had some serious struggles during Sunday’s matchup against Washington, with most of those missteps drawn out of the team’s D-zone execution (or lack thereof).
Washington jumped out to a 4-1 lead after 20 minutes due in large part to some poor puck play in Boston’s end of the ice. Just 31 seconds after Geekie opened the scoring at 6:17 in the first, Washington secured the equalizer after Nikita Zadorov turned the puck over behind Boston’s net — eventually leading to Sonny Milano beating DiPietro with a sharp backhand shot from the slot.
It was a rough start for Zadorov and his D partner, Victor Soderstrom. Soderstrom, who is looking to beat out Michael Callahan and Jordan Harris for Boston’s seventh D spot, didn’t do himself any favors on Sunday.
After getting outmuscled by Milano in the slot on that first goal, Soderstrom threw a pass between Elias Lindholm’s legs and into the front of Boston’s net that was buried by Hendrix Lapierre at 11:33.
Zadorov was burned in transition at 15:31 after Milano raced past the Bruins’ blueliner before beating DiPietro with a wrist shot, while Mason Lohrei also lost a puck battle (while getting hindered by an on-ice official) to Ivan Miroshnichenko before the Caps forward fed the puck in front to Bogdan Trineyev for Washington’s fourth goal of the evening.
It shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that Boston was knocked for missteps in their first preseason action.
But, if the Bruins want to regain their identity under Sturm as a stingy club, some of those errant passes and self-inflicted miscues can’t sprout up at a regular rate.
“The last three days, we went through a lot,” Sturm said, adding: “I’m not saying it was [all] new, but just, it was a different voice, I guess. So I don’t blame my players. They work hard. We were just not smart enough and that’s why we were down right away, 4-1.”
Playing with pace
Despite Boston’s struggles in their own end, both Sturm and his players were encouraged by the speed at which they were playing Sunday’s game, especially on the offensive end of the ice.
Sturm noted that Boston’s transition game — an area that slowed down the team’s already listless offense in 2024-25 — was the best part of his team’s collective game on Sunday.
Boston had a lot more pace and structure while ferrying the puck through the neutral zone, while both Viktor Arvidsson and Matej Blumel had some quality looks in transition while carrying the puck into Grade-A ice.
“I think when we played fast, you could see it,” Charlie McAvoy said. “I think we’re trying to do that on our breakout. … When we can move pucks quick on first touch and we can fly up the ice, like [Blumel] had a good one there at the end, that kind of results in a breakaway.
“We’re trying to play fast. We’re trying to get above. New systems. It’s going to take a minute, but we knew for this that you just want to control effort and execution as best you can. So that was kind of what we were trying to take away from tonight.”
Despite only scoring two goals — and zero on three power-play bids — Boston seems to be adopting a more shot-first mindset. Despite only outshooting Washington, 28-27, the Bruins actually led the Caps in shot attempts, 74-42. Washington blocked 25 of those shots, including several on the man advantage.
“We didn’t practice it all,” Sturm said of Boston’s power play. “We talked about it before the game a little bit, just the breakouts, or foundation on the breakouts and the end boards a little bit. And that was it … most of the time we had some O-zone time. Can we be better? Yes. Absolutely.”
Boston’s top power-play unit on Sunday featured Charlie McAvoy, Elias Lindholm, Morgan Geekie, Matej Blumel, and Viktor Arvidsson at the netfront. The second unit had Mason Lohrei operating up high with a grouping that also featured Matt Poitras, Alex Steeves, Fraser Minten, and Fabian Lysell.
Not a good start for DiPietro
Yes, the Bruins’ D-zone coverage left a lot to be desired on Sunday.
But, goalie Michael DiPietro also wasn’t exactly sharp in his first preseason reps. He gave up five goals on 21 shots.
This is a critical fall for DiPietro, who signed a two-year deal with Boston in June and could potentially push Joonas Korpisalo for the team’s backup role behind Jeremy Swayman on the depth chart.
DiPietro would also have to be exposed to waivers if the team wanted to send him to Providence, which could open the risk of another team plucking the 26-year-old netminder off Boston’s roster if they believe he’s not ready for NHL reps.
The Bruins ideally want to see DiPietro make a legitimate push before grappling with that waiver call, but Sunday didn’t exactly move the needle.
Boston’s defense tightened up after goalie Simon Zajicek entered the game midway through the second period, but the Czech goalie also made a strong post-to-post stop against Lapierre during his reps.
Stock report
- Sturm tabbed a fourth line of Patrick Brown, Jeffrey Viel, and Riley Duran as his best line of the night. Beyond Brown’s tally in the second period, both Viel and Duran generated some extensive O-zone time by winning puck battles on the forecheck. Still, that trio has an uphill climb when it comes to leapfrogging other potential fourth-line regulars on the roster like Sean Kuraly, Mark Kastelic, Mikey Eyssimont, and Johnny Beecher.
- Boston’s best “prospect” on Sunday night might have been defenseman Frederic Brunet, who formed an effective pairing alongside Andrew Peeke and was not knocked for a goal against. Brunet seemed to adhere to Sturm’s preachings by moving the puck quickly while also breaking up a few odd-man rushes with some timely poke checks.
- Sturm pointed to some good and bad with a younger forward line that featured Blumel, Poitras, and Steeves. Poitras drew three penalties but was again knocked around quite a bit on the ice, while Blumel had some good looks in transition. It wasn’t the sharpest game from all three forwards in Boston’s D-zone.
- Fabian Lysell had a very strong start on Sunday by throwing his weight around on the forecheck and using his speed to try and make things happen. But, he quieted down the stretch, landing zero shots on goal over 15:47 of ice time.
- Fraser Minten continues to do the little things that could have him break camp with the NHL club. During his 14:16 of ice time, Minten won 6-of-7 faceoffs while also doling out some hits.
Sign up for the Today newsletter
Get everything you need to know to start your day, delivered right to your inbox every morning.
