When everyone said NHL training camps were going to go by fast this month, nobody was kidding. However, with an 84-game schedule this season, the preseason was cut down from six to four preseason games for the Boston Bruins, and it's hard to believe, but the fourth and final preseason game is Friday night against the Washington Capitals on the road.
Head coach Marco Sturm is just four days away from the 2026-27 regular season opening next Tuesday night at TD Garden against the New York Rangers and he'll roll out what appears to be very, very close to what his Opening Roster will look like in the final preseason tune up.
Bruins announce familiar-looking roster for preseason final against Capitals
After a 2-0 loss on Thursday night to the Philadelphia Flyers, the Bruins have a quick turnaround against the Caps. After a mixture of younger players and veterans against the Flyers, the Black and Gold will be rolling out a lineup that should look very close to what they will send out against the Rangers.
The squad is set for our last game of the preseason. pic.twitter.com/d6LRrK3b3d
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) September 25, 2026
As far as the forwards go, James Hagens and Dans Locmelis get another game on a back-to-back along with 10 other forwards who will be in the Opening Night lineup barring an injury before Tuesday night. On the backend, Jonathan Aspirot is also going to play in back-to-back games after playing 15:57 in Thursday night's loss to Philadelphia. Mason Lohrei will be in the lineup after getting suffering an injury in practice earleir this week, but he is fighting for not only a spot on Opening Night, but a spot on the roster in general.
We have to remember that Charlie McAvoy is suspended for the first six games of the season for his slash at the end of last spring's first-round playoff series against the Buffalo Sabres, which changes things in terms of Sturm's defense breaking camp.
It's not surprising that Jeremy Swayman gets the start between the pipes after Michael DiPietro played and played very well on Thursday night in Philadelphia to lock down the backup slot.
Sturm won't tip his hand as to what his lineup will look like breaking camp until the final round of cuts is made. That is likely coming over the weekend. There could be some wrenches thrown into the decisions if Matthew Poitras is injured at the start of the season and has to miss some time. That would for sure open the door for a veteran or younger player on the bubble to hang around a little bit longer.
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