The Boston Bruins play preseason hockey on Sunday night at the TD Garden against the Washington Capitals. As expected, second-year head coach Marco Sturm and his staff will be running out a lineup that will feature a lot of question marks with some of the young players.
There are four preseason games this week for the Black and Gold ahead of the final cuts. With that said, let's guess what the Opening Night lines will look like before there are four games to evaluate who makes the roster and who doesn't.
Predicting Bruins Opening Night lines before the first preseason game
Forwards
- JJ Perterka-Elias Lindholm-David Pastrnak
- Morgan Geekie-Pavel Zacha-Casey Mittlestadt
- Marat Khusnutdinov-Fraser Minten-James Hagens
- Tanner Jennot-Sean Kuraly-Mark Kastelic
Extra: Matthew Poitras
Let's start with the forwards. One question is how the top three centers will play out. Right now, Sturm is keeping things the way they were at the end of last season, with Elias Lindholm, Pavel Zacha, and Minten from the first line down to the third. Will it end up that way against the New York Rangers on Sept. 29? Time will tell.
One thing that has stood out early in camp is that Sturm loves the "Kid Line" with Marat Khusnutdinov, Minten, and James Hagens, who clicked late last season. It's clearly something he loves. Expect the fourth line to remain intact, and JJ Peterka to land somewhere in the top six, but we're betting it's on the first line. The one question surrounding the forwards is Matthew Poitras, who signed his contract just five days ago. He'll need waivers to get to the Providence Bruins in the American Hockey League if Boston decides to go that route.
Defensemen
- Nikita Zadorov-Will Borgen
- Hampus Lindholm-Mason Lohrei
- Jonathan Aspirot-Connor Clifton
Extras: Frederic Brunet, Charlie McAvoy (suspended)
As for the defensemen, let's remember, Charlie McAvoy is suspended for the first six games for his slash on Buffalo Sabres forward Zach Benson at the end of Game 6 of last spring's playoff series. That's a huge loss. As for how things shake out on the backend, the only question, assuming everyone remains healthy, is who will be on the third pairing. We'll go with Jonathan Aspirot and Connor Clifton. One player to keep an eye on is Frederic Brunet, who, like Poitras, required waivers to get to the AHL.
Goalies
- Jeremy Swayman
- Michael DiPietro
There really is no drama here. Unless an injury occurs, it's pretty clear who the two netminders will be.
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