Boston Bruins: Quest for the Cup – Day 5

Apr 12, 2014; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Bruins left wing

(21) shoots the puck against the Buffalo Sabres during the third period at TD Garden. The Bruins won 4-1. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports

The Boston Bruins learned a few things from the Black and Gold scrimmage yesterday.  The Boston Bruins had a lot of rust on their skates. Half a dozen of the Providence Bruins surprised their NHL counterparts. A few of them have the stuff to make the big squad. The Bruins were mixing up the lines again in practice as the organization has to take a serious look at who could be ready for the available slots on the roster.

Here is one of the rosters the Bruins were working with, and it’s possible we’ll see many of these lines in action tomorrow night.

Forwards:

Matt Fraser – David Krejci – Loui Eriksson
Anthony Camara – Carl Soderberg – Brian Ferlin
Dan Paille – Ryan Spooner – Simon Gagne 
Jordan Caron – Chris Kelly – Tyler Randell

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Fraser hasn’t been terrible, but hasn’t seemed to wow people. I still rate his shot a “maybe”. Being in Milan Lucic‘s slot though does speak to the organization’s thoughts on him. Loui looked good on the ice, even when he got cross-checked by Brad Marchand. Camara has done well in Providence, but I don’t know if he’s good to go in Boston. I like Paille and Spooner together. They both have speed, they both can make the big play, and they’ve got the capacity for solid breakaways. Gagne is still on the “maybe” list, but he’s still got speed and the ability to play well.

Jordan Caron has sort of grown on me. He was one of the better Boston Bruins on the ice for Team Black. He was able to break up plays in the defensive zone, and showed impressive speed in making two and three zone runs. While he (and David Warsofsky) were outstanding on defense, they did tend to get a little lost past the offensive blue line. Caron’s contract is extremely cap friendly, and if it comes down to dollars and cents, we could see Jordan Caron grabbing one of those slots by the end of the pre-season.

Ty Randell was listed in my mind as “not likely” before the scrimmage. Then he went out there and owned the ice. His two goal, three point game made a statement, and it made the fans and the front office take notice. If Campbell remains hurt, Randell would be a good filler for Boston. He has comparable speed, he’s got hot hands, and he would fit the ‘Big, Bad, Bruins’ profile very well.

Defensemen:

Dennis Seidenberg – Johnny Boychuk
David Warsofsky – Kevan Miller
Chris Casto – Frankie Simonelli

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It’s great to see Seidenberg as healthy again. Seeing him paired with Boychuk does generate a sigh of relief. These two will likely be the Bruins second d-pair going into the season. It also puts to rest some of the speculation that Boychuk was the big trade target. (So, will the Bruins surprise us? Or will they go with an Adam McQuaid/Matt Bartkowski combo deal?) I’m not sure on Casto or Simonelli. I would have rated Casto as “not likely”, but Chiarelli has his eye on him. As long as Torey Krug remains out of the mix, spot number six (and seven) are available to practically anyone who impresses during the pre-season.

Goaltenders:

Niklas Svedberg
Malcolm Subban

I’m a little surprised not to see Tuukka Rask here. Svedberg was the only one of the goalies who stopped all shots at the scrimmage. Short of a colossal brain fart on his part, he’s got the lead for the number two job in Boston.  The lead isn’t overwhelming though, and Malcolm Subban could earn the job (If shuts down his bigger brother, P.K. Subban, all the better.) with a solid performance.

The first pre-season game against the Montreal Canadiens will be equal parts litmus test and fire drill.  The team will be looking at people who are on the bubble, and determine who needs to go. People on this list will either be cut or send back down to Providence. The Canadiens fan base are rabid and the Bell Centre is one of the toughest places to play (especially for the Bruins) in the NHL. If the Habs hand the Bruins their heads, it will certainly color the first regular season game. If the opposite is true, I’m sure we won’t hear the end of it when it comes to last year’s second round results.