The Boston Bruins fell to the Philadelphia Flyers in a 4-3 shootout loss on Friday. For the players battling for a playoff spot, here's whose stock went up and went down.
BOSTON – The Boston Bruins fell to the Philadelphia Flyers in a 4-3 shootout loss in their third preseason game on Friday night.
There were a lot more NHL regulars in the mix for this game than the prior two. David Pastrnak scored twice, Brad Marchand was a force and Pavel Zacha had a great night on the face-off dot. They were also each on the ice for at least one Flyers goal, and Pastrnak and Zacha were on there for two.
Since their position with the team is already ‘Sharpied’ in, this game doesn’t really do anything to improve their stock, just like a poor game wouldn’t have lowered it.
As for the players looking to earn a spot, a single preseason game isn’t going to make or break anyone’s standing in the organizational depth chart, but here’s whose stock went up and went down after Friday night’s game:
Stock Up: The Power Play
I know, this isn’t a player, but with it being the first look at what the power play units will (mostly) look like during the regular season, it’s worth mentioning.
It wasn’t the full-strength power play unit, as James van Riemsdyk has been getting a lot of practice reps, but with Alex Chiasson slotting in with Charlie McAvoy, Pastrnak, Zacha and Marchand, the new-look top unit came out firing on all cylinders. Literally. Their first opportunity produced one wide shot and one shot on goal before Pastrnak finally put the puck in the net on the third attempt.
“First game together, I thought we moved the puck pretty well,” Pastrnak said. “We had a lot of opportunities, I think, each power play, and we ended up getting one, so it felt pretty good honestly.”
On their second opportunity, the first unit completely tipped the ice before the second unit finally finished it off with Danton Heinen’s goal from the slot. The penalty time had run out by the time Heinen scored, but it was effectively a power play possession that created the scoring chance.
Every player who got time on the power play had a 5v4 Corsi For Percentage of 100. The percentage should always be higher on the man advantage, but the Bruins kept all the action in the offensive end on Friday, which is a great sign for the upcoming season.
Stock Down: Wotherspoon-Walsh Pairing
Philadelphia dominated the first 10 minutes of the game, and it was a tough start for most of the Bruins, but Parker Wotherspoon and Reilly Walsh just got bullied by Broad Street.
The Bruins were out-shot 12-3 with Wotherspoon on the ice and 12-4 with Walsh on, and they were out-chanced 8-2. It’s no shock that players like McAvoy, Hampus Lindholm and Kevin Shattenkirk would outshine those two, but the younger pair failed to hold their own.
Stock Up: Danton Heinen
After a rough outing against the Sabres in Boston’s last preseason game, Heinen elevated his performance. He got time on the aforementioned second power play unit, potting a goal after penalty time expired.
Even at 5-on-5, he was a force. The Bruins produced five high danger scoring chances when he was on the ice, and the Flyers failed to produce any. He had the highest Expected Goals For Percentage (84.97) of any Bruin, and he delivered a hit and blocked shot to boot.
“To be honest, [I was] not great the last couple games,” Heinen said. “I felt better as probably the second half of this game, just physically. I think I sort of could make more plays, but I just try to keep building.”
“I think I got more in the tank. I think I can show more.”
Playing on a Professional Tryout Agreement, Heinen arguably faces more pressure to make an impression than any player under contract, and after a less-than-ideal first impression, Heinen has put himself back on the radar.
Stock Down: John Farinacci
Bruins assistant coach Joe Sacco emphasized Farinacci needed a good night on the penalty kill and on the face-off dot to help himself carve out a role on the team, and while he did go 7/13 on the dot (53.8%), his penalty kill unit allowed a Flyers power play goal.
However at 5-on-5, he had the second-lowest Corsi For Percentage (26.92) behind Zacha (26.32), and the Bruins allowed five high-danger scoring chances with him on the ice while producing zero.
“In the third period, they [the Flyers] came out, they pushed a little bit and we were kind of caught on our heels at times,” Sacco said. “But again, it’s the preseason, it’s about guys finding their timing, finding their rhythm and so, you know, overall there’s good and bad.”
After fellow centers Matt Poitras and Johnny Beecher among others have put together strong preseason performances, Farinacci may have dropped in the pecking order after his first preseason game action.
Stock Up: Georgii Merkulov
At 5-foot-11, 176 pounds, Merkulov doesn’t have a big frame, and it showed in moments where he couldn’t keep up in physical battles with larger opponents, but Merkulov displayed the skill that helped him lead the Providence Bruins in points last season. He picked up an assist, but he nearly had a goal and another assist.
Matt Poitras found him on the back door with an open net, but the puck bounced away off his stick, and a centering pass to Heinen late in the third period was blocked away by Flyers goalie Cal Petersen.
Despite missing out on two more points, Merkulov asserted himself offensively. He was one of three Bruins who led the team with four shots on goal, and he led the team with both a 66.67 5v5 Corsi For Percentage (16-8) and 66.67 Scoring Chances For Percentage (8-4).
He did give up the penalty shot to Flyers forward Owen Tippett in overtime, but Linus Ullmark kept the game alive. All in all, it was an impressive outing for the 22-year-old Russian.