Seven days and the last spots on the roster are up for grabs.

Sep 19, 2013; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Bruins center

(34) celebrates a goal during the third period against the Detroit Red Wings at TD Banknorth Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports

With only a week to go before opening night, the race for the final spots on the Boston Bruins roster is just too close to call.  The Bruins still have many highly talented people competing for the last spots on the Bruins third line and the Bruins blue line. The next two games in Winnipeg will determine who is going to make the final cut and play for Boston in the 2013-14 season.

Once again, it’s going to come down the prospects desire to make the team and the fine eye of Claude Julien to see who is going to have that jersey waiting for them in the locker room next week. “We’re trying to fine tune our game but at the same time we have to continue to evaluate those last few players that we’re looking at right now and [Thursday’s] game will mean a lot. Again, I want to be as close as I can to my lineup on Friday but that doesn’t mean it’s going to happen.”

“We may have to look at some guys again in order to make that final decision so that could be a possibility too, but we’ll try and get as close as we can to it.”

There are still too many people in competition for the two spots open on the third line. Chris Kelly has been paired up with Carl Soderberg and Reilly Smith, and this might be the final configuration, but players like Nick Johnson, Ryan Spooner, and (I dare say) Jordan Caron have made a strong enough case to end on the Boston roster. Whomever does not get picked, they will make the Providence squad a very nasty team to play against.

On the blue line, it’s a final sprint between Torey Krug and Kevan Miller. Krug might have a slight lead going into the last two games, but at this point, the seventh defenseman slot is still too close to call.

In the crease, Niklas Svedberg will have his chance to play a full game. A solid performance will all but cement his place as Tuukka Rask‘s back up. Svedberg has looked the most comfortable of all the players in the net so far, and in my opinion, it’s his job to lose at this point.

The Bruins will drop the puck with Winnipeg at 9:05 eastern time tonight.