bostonglobe
At Warrior Arena on Wednesday, the Boston Bruins took significant steps toward finalizing their opening night lineup during two practice sessions. However, alongside the growing clarity, unexpected injuries introduced new uncertainties.
Forward prospect Matt Poitras, who suffered a lower-body injury during Tuesday's on-ice workout, was unable to participate in either practice. Defenseman Mason Lohrei, entering his fourth professional season, skated in the second session alongside Henri Jokiharju but departed early with an undisclosed injury and did not return.
In a fiercely competitive camp where roster spots are limited and the season opener against the Rangers at TD Garden on Tuesday looms, lost audition time could be detrimental for both players. Regarding Poitras, head coach Marco Sturm acknowledged that the setback complicates the 22-year-old's bid for a spot on the 23-man roster.
"You want to deliver," Sturm said, considering Poitras's perspective. "You want to prove to the coach, to the team, whatever, you name it. Then if you get one injury, with only a week to go, you are behind – that's hard on the kid, for sure."
Sturm added that Lohrei, 25, was undergoing tests for his injury. "So we'll probably have an update [Thursday]," Sturm said.
Looking ahead to Thursday night's exhibition game against the Flyers in Philadelphia, Sturm's top two lines in practice were: JJ Peterka-Elias Lindholm-David Pastrnak and Casey Mittelstadt-Pavel Zacha-Morgan Geekie. Sturm has emphasized since the start of training camp that he will continue to tweak lines and defensive pairings. It is highly likely, though, that those six forwards will form the top two lines – possibly with minor adjustments – before Tuesday's puck drop.
The bottom six, where Poitras has been a candidate to secure a roster spot, featured James Hagens-Fraser Minten-Marat Khusnutdinov (the so-called Kid Line) and Alex Steeves-Sean Kuraly-Mark Kastelic. Those trios are less likely to remain intact, mainly because Sturm will surely want gritty left winger Tanner Jeannot in that bottom-six mix. Additionally, after versatile winger Mikey Eyssimont scored twice in a 5-1 win over the Flyers, Sturm may find it difficult not to keep the veteran. Jeannot and Eyssimont centered the workout with rookie hopeful Dans Locmelis, who has also impressed the coaching staff during the short camp.
On defense, where franchise blueliner Charlie McAvoy will begin the season sidelined by a six-game suspension, the workout paired Nikita Zadorov with returnee Connor Clifton and Hampus Lindholm with newcomer Will Borgen (formerly of the Rangers). That group most likely will comprise the top four on opening night. If Lohrei remains sidelined, Sturm will have to assemble another pairing from candidates Jonathan Aspirot, Jordan Harris, Frederic Brunet, and Jokiharju.
The math gets tighter and more complicated once McAvoy is eligible to return on Oct. 13 against the Sharks in San Jose, the start of a four-game road trip. Brunet contributed two assists against the Flyers, boosting his chances of leaving Providence behind after three seasons with the AHL affiliate. "He's been excellent – exactly what we were looking for," Sturm said. "There's still a ways to go, but we really liked the way he started camp from day one."
Eyssimont, 30, appeared in only 56 games last season (8-10–18) and then just two of the six playoff matchups against the Sabres. He doesn't need to score to be an effective bottom-six asset, but any offensive contribution is welcome. "I've always prided myself on being able to score goals," said Eyssimont, who helped Team USA win a gold medal at the 2025 World Championships. "Obviously, that's not the main role that I serve in this league, but it definitely helps."
Sturm particularly liked that Eyssimont drove to high-danger scoring areas for his two goals Tuesday. Generating those chances and converting them has been at the top of Sturm's to-do list since camp opened. "Message received," said Eyssimont, a veteran of 269 NHL games. "I think that's something I want to be better at this year," he said. "One of the things they showed us in camp is the heat chart, where goals were scored in the NHL last year. And it's pretty straightforward."
Once in prime scoring territory, providing the finishing touch often comes down to technique. "I know a lot of guys who score a lot of net-front goals, and they're almost like Anthony Davis as a center in basketball," noted the 6-foot, 190-pound Eyssimont. "They'll spin off guys and the puck goes on their stick. I try to learn from those guys a lot. I don't have the length some of those guys do that are better there. But there are guys who get it done and I'm bigger than them, so I am trying to work in that red-hot area by the crease. We've really focused on that in camp."
Originally reported by bostonglobe.