The Boston Bruins will lace up the skates for the first time for real on Wednesday night, when they travel to the nations capital to battle the Washington Capitals in the 2022-23 regular season opener.
Boston will be under first year head coach Jim Montgomery, after firing Bruce Cassidy after six seasons. The former Dallas Stars bench boss gets his second chance at a head coaching position, and vows to improve the Bruins offense by getting more from the defense and improving communication with players. The B’s come off a 2021-22 season where they went 51-26-5 for 107 points, losing in a seven game first round series to the Carolina Hurricanes. The team starts the season with three crucial injuries. Matt Grzelcyk (right shoulder) is expected to be back in early November, while Brad Marchand (hip surgery) and Charlie McAvoy (left shoulder) could be out until early December. Even with the injuries they do return familiar faces with offensive firepower to start the year including David Pastrnak, David Krejci, Patrice Bergeron, Taylor Hall, Jake Debrusk, and Craig Smith.
The Bruins will need to improve offensively, where they ranked 15th in the NHL last season (3.09 goals per game). Debrusk hopes to keep up the pace, as he scored 25 goals a year ago skating on the Marchand and Bergeron line. The return of Krejci is also a positive, after the winger spent a season playing in his native Czech Republic. Pavel Zucha, who was acquired in the offseason from the New Jersey Devils and had a career high in points in 2021-22 (15 goals, 21 assists), hopes to also add some offensive punch. Boston has some spots up for grabs early in the season for coach Montgomery. We could see someone like prospect Fabian Lysell skating with Bergeron as a fill-in until Marchand returns. They’ll also need solid defensive pairings until the return of Grzelcyk and McAvoy that should include Brandon Carlo, Hampus Lindholm, Jakub Zboril, Derek Forbort, and Connor Clifton. Montgomery didn’t name a #1 goalie, but Jeremy Swayman started 39 games last season going 23-14 with a 2.14 goals against average and a .914 save percentage. The former University of Maine netminder and native of Anchorage, Alaska had been sent down to Providence for a short time in January when Tuuka Rask came out of retirement and signed a one year deal. Rask only played four games before deciding to hang it up for good, opening the door again for Swayman. The second goalie is Linus Ullmark, whom the team acquired from Buffalo during the 2020-21 offseason. Ullmark also started 39 games a year ago, finishing 26-10 with a 2.45 GAA and a .917 save percentage.
The first opponent on the new season, the Washington Capitals, went 44-26-12 in 2021-22 for 100 points and fell to the Florida Panthers in six games in the first round of the playoffs. Boston plays their second game on the schedule as part of their home opener against the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday night at TD Garden.
