Except for Mark Kastelic, Bruins showed little fight in lackluster effort vs. Rangers - The Boston Globe
It was not a good night for the younger Bruins hopefuls, with a lack of chemistry plus missed checks and indifferent play.
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NEW YORK — Ironically, there was a lack of punch on Joe Louis Plaza.
The Bruins and Rangers barely put up a fight during their exhibition game Thursday night at Madison Square Garden, which sits on the property named in honor of Louis, the legendary heavyweight boxer.
“The Brown Bomber” would have balked at the display put on by the Original Six combatants, which was more passive than physical. Save for Mark Kastelic’s second-period bout with New York’s Connor Mackey, this 5-2 Bruins loss had very little emotion. In fact, it felt more like teams going through the motions.
There were some established stars in the Black and Gold lineup: David Pastrnak, Charlie McAvoy, and Nikita Zadorov to name a few. They don’t need to worry about job security. The guys on the fringe do, however, and not enough of them showed the requisite fight to burst through the roster bubble.
“What we’re looking for is to see our team game build, and that was below average,” said Bruins coach Jim Montgomery. “But the other part is individuals making a mark themselves and showing some emotions and physicality when things aren’t going their way, to build momentum for the team.”
There were some flashes from the kids — Brett Harrison’s goal off a nifty feed from Morgan Geekie in addition to the continued controlled aggressiveness of winger Trevor Kuntar and defenseman Drew Bavaro — but it wasn’t enough.
Missed passes and choppy play can be chalked up to a lack of chemistry as players are still getting used to various line combinations, and traveling and playing on the same day is not ideal.
Missed checks and indifferent play are not so easily explained away.
After 10 days of training camp, the Bruins got a day off Friday and will return to work Saturday with a morning skate at Warrior Arena, followed by preseason game No. 4 in Philadelphia in the evening.
The final push for jobs begins in earnest now; the opener is less than two weeks away, and more mojo and moxie will be needed from young pups.
By contrast, two new veterans — Kastelic and Tyler Johnson — continued their strong camps. Both have shown valuable versatility as they look to solidify spots in Montgomery’s rotation.
Kastelic arrived as part of the Linus Ullmark trade with the reputation as a physical player in all three zones. He has lived up to that.
The 6-foot-4-inch, 227-pounder is an active forechecker who is getting more and more comfortable with the system Montgomery runs.
“I think there’s some different things they do here that I’m not used to personally and for a lot of other guys,” said Kastelic. “So the more you can not think as much, the easier the game will come. So it’s kind of just about hammering down the structure as best that we can so that way the game kind of comes naturally.”
Kastelic laid a big hit on Mackey, who responded by inviting Kastelic to drop the gloves. He happily obliged.
“I respect the guy that wants to go at it after he takes a good hit, and something I’m never going to back down from,” said Kastelic. “It’s something that’s kind of always been a part of me and I have a hard time turning down an offer, but, at the same time, it can spark the guys and hopefully it did a little bit.
“That’s something that I’m sure won’t be the last time.”
Montgomery has been auditioning penalty killers, and Kastelic fits that bill as well.
“I’ve taken a lot of pride in being a penalty killer,” said Kastelic. “I feel like I have a lot of good attributes that contribute to a good PK and so I’m trying to take the most I can out of these opportunities on the penalty kill, especially in the five-on-three situation.
“It’s a big honor to be out there on the kill and something I want to try to continue to build off of. And again, that comes with learning the systems and kind of making it come more naturally.”
Montgomery said Kastelic is definitely making a push.
“You know what you’re going to get with him,” said the coach. “He’s going to be hard. He’s going to be physical. By no means was his game perfect, but the effort was there. The second, third effort going hard to hard areas, which has to be part of his calling card.”
As for Johnson, who is on a PTO, he has been slotted at center and both wings and has been a puck magnet.
“He knows where the puck’s going, so he’s there before the puck is there and he makes real good subtle passes,” said Montgomery. “He’s a real smart hockey player that knows how to give his teammates the puck with time and space.”
