With the season opener only a few days away, the Boston Bruins took on the New York Islanders in one of their final preseason games on Oct. 4 at the Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport, CT. The arena was flooded with excited fans from all over wearing black and gold, and orange and blue in spirit of their supporting teams.
Among the starting lineup for the Bruins were returning players Reilly Smith, Torey Krug, Daniel Paille, Chris Kelly, Carl Soderberg, and Dennis Seidenberg. The rest of the Boston Bruins lineup consisted of rookies. A couple of rookies that stood out were goalie, Malcolm Subban and forward, David Pastrnak.
After the Bruins dominated the Islanders with a win of 6-1, they shocked fans the next day by making a huge trade. Johnny Boychuk, one of the defensive linemen was traded to the Islanders in exchange for two second round draft picks along with a third round draft pick.
Most fans are not happy with this trade. Not only have the Bruins lost Boychuk, but they also lost forward Shawn Thornton to the Florida Panthers and Jarome Iginla to the Colorado Avalanche within the last few months. These three players have been a huge advantage to the Bruins and it’s very upsetting to see them go to opposing teams.
The Bruins are going to have to adjust to these major changes. The younger and newer players are going to be expected to stand out and step up to take on roles that they may not have been prepared for. Eighteen-year-old Pastrnak could be one of these players. The Bruins acquired him as a first round draft pick and he made his debut in Bridgeport on Friday night.
Pastrnak had not been playing because of a shoulder injury but reportedly said it felt great on the ice against the Islanders. He also helped in assisting a Paille goal during the third period. While Pastrnak stood out, he is small. Weighing in at only 167 pounds, people are worried about him getting hurt. But adding his aggression and skills to the lineup may benefit the team.
Instead of having a team of mostly veterans, the Bruins are going to be incorporating a bunch of rookies that may or may not succeed. It will be interesting to see this develop over the season, and to see what head coach Claude Julien is going to do.
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