After a 3-2 shootout win over the Washington Capitals on Sunday night at the TD Garden, the Boston Bruins will be playing their second of four preseason games over six days on Tuesday night at home against the Philadelphia Flyers.
After giving a fair number of younger players a chance to impress against the Capitals, the Black and Gold will roll out more of a veteran lineup against the Flyers. There will also be some newcomers who were acquired or signed over the offseason getting their first opportunity to don the Black and Gold. Here are three Bruins with something to prove against the Flyers.
Connor Clifton
There were very few free-agent signings by general manager Don Sweeney this summer, but one of them was rather eye-opening. The Bruins brought back former defenseman Connor Clifton, who left for the Buffalo Sabres in free agency a couple of years ago and also had a stint with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Where does Clinfton fit in with this Boston team? He's a bottom-pairing defenseman; however, he could be asked to take on more of a load with Charlie McAvoy suspended for the first six games of the season for his slash in Game 6 of last spring's playoff series against Buffalo. He plays a steady game that should work well in head coach Marco Sturm's system.
Will Borgen
After reportedly losing out on a Darnell Nurse trade with the Edmonton Oilers, Sweeney apparently pivoted to the New York Rangers for defenseman Will Borgen. The 29-year-old has played in 373 career NHL games with the Seattle Kraken and Rangers. Last season, he averaged just over 18 minutes a game for New York with five goals and 15 points.
Offense will not be something that Borgen will be looked to provide, although he did collect 39 assists combined over two seasons in 2022-23 and 2023-24 with the Kraken. Like Clifton, he could be asked to play a bigger role higher in the lineup throughout the first six games with McAvoy sidelined. Under the new rules, Borgen can only play in two preseason games, so he'll have to learn on the fly.
Mikey Eyssimont
There are going to be some fascinating decisions coming up for the Bruins when it comes to figuring out the final forward spots. One of those players is veteran Mikey Eyssimont. His playing time wasn't as much as he would have liked last season and he is one of a handful of players who could be blocking a roster spot for some of the younger players Boston is looking to add to it's roster this winter.
Alex Steeves didn't do much to improve his chances of making the roster against Washington, but James Hagens and Matthew Poitras did. It feels like Poitras' place on the roster might come down to Steeves and Eyssimont. There isn't room for all three. There might not be room for two out of the three.
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