Bruins Postgame: Poitras Shines Again, Penalty Kill Came Through

A combination of veterans stepping up and rookies battling for roster spots led the Boston Bruins to beat the New York Rangers 3-1 in their final game of the 2023-24 preseason.

The Boston Bruins’ penalty kill was flawless Thursday night, and Matt Poitras continued to showcase that he belongs in Boston in the 2023-24 season.

CLUTCH:

Poitras, yet again, showed up to play phenomenal hockey on Thursday. Not only did he grab the game-winning goal, but the Brooklin, Ontario native won three of four faceoffs on the night (best of any Bruins center). The 19-year-old also did a stellar job of contributing notable penalty killing and two-way play.

Matt Poitras doing his best to make the roster, yet again.

Great shift from Trent Frederic too.

2-1 #NHLBruins: pic.twitter.com/JKEo8DAU4n

— Blake Thorne (@_BlakeThorne) October 6, 2023

After notching two goals and two assists in four preseason games, the Bruins are faced with a tough decision of sending Poitras back to the OHL with the Guelph Storm or hanging onto him and testing his skills in a true NHL regular season game.

BANGER:

Shortly after Charlie Coyle‘s second-period equalizing powerplay goal, he made another attempt to swing the momentum in the way of the Bruins. Coyle took on Jimmy Vesey, and to be frank, Coyle manhandled him. Granted, Coyle had eight penalty minutes throughout Thursday’s game, but he certainly assisted in swinging the momentum of the game in the Bruins’ favor.

Charlie Coyle lets Jimmy Vesey know who’s boss: pic.twitter.com/TMXE32sGJE

— Blake Thorne (@_BlakeThorne) October 6, 2023

DOGHOUSE: 

Shots on goal, yet again, are in the doghouse — The Rangers blocking 14 shots did not help them there.

The Bruins had one shot in the first, six in the second, and eight in the third for 15 on the night. Granted, they took home a win, but that amount of shots will simply not get it done in the regular season.

UNSUNG HERO:

Thursday’s unsung hero is the Bruins’ penalty kill. They went six-for-six, killing off 12 minutes of uneven play. One forward-pairing to note from Thursday’s game was Brad Marchand and Poitras. They were exemplary in the defensive zone, making it nearly impossible for the Rangers to create good chances.

KEY STAT:

• Jeremy Swayman stopped 22 of 23 shots for a .957 save percentage.
• 29 total blocked shots on the night (Bruins: 15, Rangers: 14).
• Mason Lohrei blocked three shots in the first period.

IN THEIR WORDS:

“Yeah, I mean, it certainly looks that way. He’s earned the right to stick around for a while, that’s for sure…He just seems to be in the right spots…He’s calm beyond his ears with the puck” – Boston Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery on Poitras’ play.

LINEUP:

Forwards

Jesper Boqvist-Pavel Zacha-David Pastrnak

Brad Marchand-Charlie Coyle-Jake DeBrusk

Trent Frederic-Matt Poitras-Morgan Geekie

A.J. Greer-John Beecher-Patrick Brown

Defensemen

Matt Grzelcyk-Charlie McAvoy

Mason Lohrei-Brandon Carlo

Derek Forbort-Ian Mitchell

Goalies

Jeremy Swayman

Brandon Bussi