Boston Bruins: 2013-14

[Jason Harris 31]

It will be interesting to see how well Dougie has improved, because last night Bartkowski reminded me of Kenbrell Thompkins -- a 25-year-old rookie looking pretty good in the preseason.

By the way, that game was surprisingly fun to watch. Players know they're on the bubble, so the pace was much faster than expected.

[JTully317 11]

Granted it was only a pre-season game, but their powerplay looked a lot better scoring 4 times on the man advantage. Iggy potted 2 and seemed like he had some good chemistry on that 1st line. Also, Nick Johnson looked great and scored twice which is a good surprise seeing as he has a very cheap contract.

[chippa13 1844]

I wouldn't put much stock in the powerplay success. For the most part you aren't facing regular penalty killing combinations and there are guys killing penalties who don't normally do it. I'm more interested in this idea of putting Krejci on the blue line for the powerplay. He doesn't exactly have a rocket.

[Tyler Roy 86]

I'm much happier he's, or anybody for that matter, up there than Chara. You don't really need a Chara on a PP.

I wouldn't put much stock in the powerplay success. For the most part you aren't facing regular penalty killing combinations and there are guys killing penalties who don't normally do it. I'm more interested in this idea of putting Krejci on the blue line for the powerplay. He doesn't exactly have a rocket.

[Jason Harris 31]

I've read that they've been practicing with Chara in front of the net for the PP. They've said in the past that they've been hesitant to use Chara for that role, because they're worried it might tire him from all the hacking and crosschecking, but who's going to move him?

[chippa13 1844]

They tried it at times in the last couple of years but I don't think it proved fruitful.

[215BroadStBullies610 434]

Subban looked solid. I was hoping the Flyers would draft him but I think he has a bright future. Ideal situation for him in that he doesn't have to rush his development.

[start_today 757]

I really dislike Chara in front of the net. He takes up a lot of space and he's hard to move, but he doesn't have deft hands to pop in rebounds. He's getting old as it is, and his size means that his body is going to breakdown quicker than other people's. Give the man a two minute break. Also, him being in front of the net requires that the Bruins gain the zone and control the puck, which has been a pretty rare happening on the PP for quite some time.

I'm curious to see what the 3rd and 4th lines will look like. Will Paille stay with Campbell and Thornton, or will he play with Kelly, since those two seemed to work well in the playoffs. Seguin's speed and scoring threat definitely helped them, and whoever is there won't have that.

I'm a little worried about the backup goalie situation. I was surprised they let Khudobin walk, and for relatively little money. Rask won't need a ton of breaks, but it would be nice to have some one reliable behind him so he can be adequately rested for playoffs.

I'm excited that they're returning the same core of players who have worked so well for the past seasons, and the additions of Iginla and Eriksson should make their respective lines even better.

[chippa13 1844]

The 4th line will most likely stay the same. It will be interesting to see who gets the 3rd line duty. Soderberg has a spot to lose and then the other spot it completely up for grabs. Depending on how the auditions go in the preseason, you may see Paille see a little extra duty on the 3rd during games if whoever they slot in isn't cutting it that night but I think his bread and butter is still with Campbell and Thornton.

On the backup goalie front, Khudobin just got a better offer from Carolina and is likely to see more time in the Hurricane net with Ward having some injury woes the last couple of years. I'm not worried about Johnson, his numbers are similar to what Khudobin had when he showed up in Boston, plus, Svedberg had a strong season in Providence last year and he could have a cup of coffee with the varsity.

[adam14 182]

I was also pleasantly surprised with Spooners play, I don't think he's roster ready but I think he could turn into a great young prospect

[bagsbie 8]

so, Hamilton is pretty much guaranteed a roster spot, I reckon.

[chippa13 1844]

Chiarelli said his goal is to have Hamilton in the NHL this season. That doesn't sound like a guaranteed spot to me.

[bagsbie 8]

three guys are battling for 2 spots on D. Hamilton's chances are very high as I see it. I personally like Bartkowski but he might be the #7.

[Jason Harris 31]

No doubt the first couple of power plays looked disjointed last night, but I have no problem with Chara parked in front. If they score one out of six, they'd improve over recent seasons. In any event, you can tell they are at least trying to have movement.

Regarding Hamilton, I haven't been able to see him play yet, because even though I pay for Centre Ice and every game is already televised, apparently it costs money at DirecTV for someone to flip a switch and add it to the NHL channels. So all I've seen are the NHL Network games. That said, Bartkowski looks significantly better this season. My guess is they might think that letting Dougie try to be a stud in the AHL might be better for his growth, although it's possible they'd want him at the NHL level for power plays.

[chippa13 1844]

Center Ice doesn't kick in until the regular season starts. As for Hamilton, I've said all along that I think he could be the odd man out in the defensive rotation. I think he will start the season as the 7th defenseman and could see be rotated in a few times in the first 10 or so games. Depending on how that goes, I think he will get some seasoning time in Providence.

[bagsbie 8]

All in all, it is a good problem to have for the Bruins...

[Chadd 916]

Center Ice doesn't kick in until the regular season starts. As for Hamilton, I've said all along that I think he could be the odd man out in the defensive rotation. I think he will start the season as the 7th defenseman and could see be rotated in a few times in the first 10 or so games. Depending on how that goes, I think he will get some seasoning time in Providence.

With Hamilton being more of an offensive guy, it certainly makes sense that Julien would favor others over him.

[Jason Harris 31]

I found it interesting that Fluto wrote he suspects Bartkowski would be the seventh D, because Bartkowski has been solid in the games I've watched.

[trevor13478 1]

I can't stand Chara in front of the net on the Powerplay. The best individual weapon the Bruins have is Chara's slapshot. Well he's not winding up and letting those fly from the top of the crease. Also, what does the fact he's 6'9" do in front of the net? Its not like goalies are looking over the top of Lucic's head when he's there, and I'd argue he's more solid and just as hard to move as Chara. Plus Chara's long stick makes it much more difficult for him to dig pucks out from his skates in close or maneuver in tight. It just seems pointless to me. It didn't work when Claude tried it last year, so why waste time with it now? I'd rather see him on the bench for the PP, resting for 5 on 5 or shorthanded situations. Let the offensive guys like Krug and Hamilton quarterback the Powerplay, and let Chara worry about defense.

Also, Chiarelli said today they're keeping 8 dmen for now- the 7 you'd expect plus Kevan Miller. That means to get to 23, one of either Johnson or Caron will need to be sent down, with Reilly Smith securing a spot on the 3rd line. I'm down on Caron, so I'm hoping Johnson sticks, especially with the preseason he had. The way i see it, Caron has gotten plenty of chances to prove himself and hasn't even been able to establish his worth in the AHL. Probably time to move on from him as another Chiarelli draft bust (cough, Zach Hamill, cough)

[JTully317 11]

Johnson was just put on waivers. I hope he clears as he has been great this pre-season.

[Jason Harris 31]

For a "Man, I haven't played for real in four months, I can't wait to get out there" type of game, the B's were surprisingly flat last night.

[chippa13 1844]

I thought Kelly played really well and that was probably the best game I've seen from Caron at the NHL level. Hamilton is still making some poor puck decisions that I think will have him platooning with Bartkowski until one of those two secures the spot for good. Krug looked very comfortable, Iginla won over the home crowd, and Eriksson looked like he is getting more and more comfortable with Bergeron and Marchand. It was by no means a perfect effort and they found themselves hemmed in too much for my liking but overall I was encouraged by what I saw last night.

[iceman8310 103]

yeah baby. looked good so far.

[JTully317 11]

Kelley definitely played well. His penalty shot was unreal. I am interested to see how he does this season after last year's lackluster performance.

[bagsbie 8]

I also thought that Lucic played well. Chara looked fresh but have to agree that overall they looked a bit rusty. a couple more games and they should be doing well. in comparison, Panthers/Stars game looked like it was in a much higher gear. Thomas looked good sporting no name goalie gear and GRAF stick.