The first two Boston Bruins preseason games against the Washington Capitals and Philadelphia Flyers are in the books. Now, the Black and Gold will hit the road on Thursday against the Flyers and Friday against the Capitals to close out the four-game slate before things begin for real on Sept. 29 at TD Garden against the New York Rangers.
The first two games were rather eye-opening for some players and for others, well, not so much. There are still a number of positional battles that second-year coach Marco Sturm and his staff need to iron out, and the chances for the players are decreasing for some. Here are four winners and two losers through the first two Boston preseason games.
Winner: Matthew Poitras
One player who is very intriguing is youngster Matthew Poitras. He signed his new contract as a restricted free agent last Wednesday and began camp. He played in the Bruins' overtime win over the Capitals and impressed.
Poitras played a very good two-way game against Washington and proved he belongs in the NHL. He has accomplished everything he possibly could in the American Hockey League (AHL). One thing to factor in is that Poitras needs waivers to get to the AHL if Boston goes that route.
Loser: Alex Steeves
There are a handful of forwards battling for a roster spot with the youngsters, and one of them is Alex Steeves. He didn't look good against Washington, and he is mkaing tough for Sturm to keep him around. He played well when he was called up last November, but as soon as the Bruins gave him a contract extension, things went south, and he ended up missing a lot of games as a scratch.
Sweeney generally has a good read on contracts and is careful as to which players he extends and which players he doesn't jump too quickly to extend. That wasn't the case with Steeves, and this contract is turning into a tough one for Sweeney to have on the books. There's really no way he can be kept on the NHL roster over some of the young players.
Winner: James Hagens
Boston's seventh overall pick in the 2025 Entry Draft opened some eyes at the Prospect Showcase a couple of weeks ago in Buffalo with six goals in two games, including all four in a 4-3 overtime victory over the Sabres on Day 2. Against Washington, he certainly impressed.
If you watched the Capitals game, you came away, or at least you should have come away, thinking that Poitras and Hagens are two of the Bruins' better offensive playmakers with their ability to make plays and control pucks. Sending Hagens to the AHL would be a mistake at this point.
Loser: Lukas Reichel
If Hagens and Poitras are going to stick around, there are going to be some forwards who will find themselves in the AHL, and one of them is likely going to be Lukas Reichel. He is an NHL player, but Boston needs to go with a bit of a youth movement, and Reichel should be one of the odd men out.
That's not to say that he won't be in the NHL at some point, as injuries are bound to occur, but unless one happens before camp ends, there is no way he sticks over the two young forwards.
Winner: Michael DiPietro
When Sweeney traded Joonas Korpisalo to the Rangers on July 1, the writing was on the wall for Michael DiPIetro. Now is the time to grab the horns and be Jeremy Swayman's backup. He got his first chance to impress in the preseason in the win over the Capitals.
He turned back 30 of the 32 shots he faced and then, in the shootout, he stopped all three chances Washington had and made Hagens' goal stand up. There is very little drama, if any, with the backup slot behind Swayman, and DiPietro has locked that up. His performance proved that he's good enough to play around 25 games this upcoming season to spell Swayman.
Winner: Frederic Brunet
There is a logjam on defense for the Bruins this training camp, and one player who has looked good so far is youngster Frederic Brunet. He played in the first two preseason games, and after having his moments against the Caps, he was much better against Philadelphia in a 5-1 win. Let's remember, like Poitras, he needs waivers to get to the AHL if they decide to go that route,
Brunet drew a comparison from Charlie McAvoy at the beginning of camp to Matt Grzelcyk, McAvoy's former partner. Against the Flyers, you can see some of the reasons why. He was good on his breakouts and picked up a pair of assists on the first and third Bruins goals. Brunet had the primary assist on a first-period Mikey Eyssimont goal; then in the third period, he picked up an assist when his shot from the point was stopped, but the rebound was buried by Brian Halonen. A defenseman who shoots the puck. Put him in the lineup.
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