Bruins show potential opening night lineup as David Pastrnak returns to practice

It's worth noting that it's still early in the Boston Bruins' training camp process. Still, Marco Sturm's recent comments about being ready earlier this preseason have us keeping a closer eye on the line combinations. With the Bruins hoping to get a jump start on the opposition and their decision to roll out a veteran-heavy lineup in the first preseason game, it's never too early to start thinking about opening night lineups.

David Pastrnak's absence from the first few days of practice put a wrench into any lineup predictions. Viktor Arvidsson was playing up in his place on the first line, which sent a ripple down through the rest of the lines. It had everyone predicting that the Bruins would go with a three-headed center rollout of Elias Lindholm, Casey Mittelstadt, and Pavel Zacha. However, Pastrnak's return switched things up even more than we thought.

The lines for Monday's practice had Pastrnak return to the first line with Lindholm and Morgan Geekie, while Arvidsson slotted into a trio with Zacha and Mittelstadt. Zacha told reporters earlier in camp that the plan was for him to be a center to start the year, but it looks like Marco Sturm is already testing him on the wing.

It's unclear if the change comes just as a chance for Sturm to see Zacha on the wing or if the play of Fraser Minten through camp and the first preseason game has the new head coach rethinking his strategy. Minten has been one of the more impressive players in camp, and he looked like an NHL player in the first game against the Washington Capitals.

Minten centered a line of Tanner Jeannot and Marat Khusnutdinov on Monday, which could be a glimpse into the team's third line, with Michael Eyssimont and Mark Kastelic rounding out the fourth line with Sean Kuraly.

There are a few key points to consider when looking at this prediction for the opening night lineup. One is that Matthew Poitras and Fabian Lysell don't make the opening night roster with this group. They are both waiver-eligible, which could be the tipping point for them starting the year in Providence. If Don Sweeney hadn't loaded up the bottom six, then the young guys might've gotten a chance, but these are now the cards that Sturm has to play with.

This lineup also leaves out Matej Blumel, which goes against what reporters saw at training camp on Monday morning. Blumel spent most of the morning practicing with the second power play unit after also featuring heavily with the man advantage in the game Sunday evening. If the Bruins are putting such an emphasis on him for the power play, it must be because they are giving him a chance to make the opening night lineup.

The question is, who will come out in that scenario? It likely means that Jeannot moves down to the fourth line, and maybe even Arvidsson down to the third line, with Blumel slotting next to Zacha and Mittelstadt. That move sends Kastelic to the press box, and possibly Johnny Beecher down to Providence.

Again, it's too early to write any lineups into stone (except, most likely, the first line), but that won't stop fans from clinging to any little hint of what the 2025-26 season is going to look like.