Takeaways: Fourth line displays edge as top Bruins’ prospects struggle

A handful of familiar names made their preseason debuts during the Bruins’ preseason opener against the New York Rangers. But, Jim Montgomery and the Boston coaching staff primarily used the beginning of the exhibition slate to audition some of the younger talent.

Amid the usual rust and slopiness in the preseason opener, the Bruins encountered some positive developments. Between Trevor Kuntar’s high motor and an engaged Mark Kastelic navigating through early penalty trouble, the Bruins received a jolt from their defacto middle six. They also witnessed Parker Wotherspoon settle a score with Brennan Othmann at the end of the second period after the Boston blue-liner was on the receiving end of a pair of late hits.

Conversely, the Bruins struggled with turnovers and puck possession. That trend came back to bite them when top prospect Fabian Lysell committed a costly hiccup on Alex Belzille’s go-ahead tally at 4:46 of the third.

Here’s what we learned from Boston’s 3-2 setback in its first of seven exhibition tilts.

A potential fourth line sets a tone behind Kastelic’s snarl

For a team that once prided itself on its “Big Bad” aura, the Bruins encountered significant struggles every time they faced a team possessing similar traits in their postseason exits over the last decade. So it’s no surprise that Don Sweeney used the added cap space this off-season in an attempt to return to their DNA.

In their first marquee move, the Bruins acquired a grinding fourth-line centerman in Mark Kastelic as part of the Linus Ullmark trade. As one of the few vets with significant prior NHL experience on Sunday, Kastelic led by example with his tone-setting work ethic.

Kastelic encountered some penalty trouble during the opening 20 minutes. But for the most part, he channeled his energy positively, winning a good share of puck battles along the walls and in front of the net.

“I want to show to everybody that I’m not afraid to get physical and be involved and be in the mix of everything, but at the same time just try to be smart about it,” Kastelic said. “As we go forward, over time, I’m sure I’ll get adjusted to playing a real-life game.”

Through the early portion of training camp, Kastelic acquainted himself accordingly with a pair of potential linemates in Johnny Beecher and Riley Duran.

The trio showcased everything asked out of a fourth line through speed, energy and tight checking. They didn’t factor into Boston’s scoring output, yet their pace and assertiveness in all three zones stood out.

“I thought him and Beecher and Duran…that whole line was really heavy and hard,” Montgomery said. “You can see them winning a lot of battles, and they look like they’re going to be really hard to handle down low, which is an ideal situation for your fourth line.”

Wotherspoon settles dispute with Othmann

The tensions generated from Sunday’s preseason opener hardly matched anything resembling one of the 82 regular season tilts. But that didn’t mean the two Original Six squads engaged in some hostilities beginning with Othmann’s late hit with Wotherspoon with a little over seven minutes left in the opening frame.

Wotherspoon returned after a stint in the dressing room for the remainder of the first. Upon his return, he took exception to another late hit from Othmann before engaging in a scrap with the Rangers blue-liner at the end of the middle stanza.

“Two hits where I didn’t even see he was coming,” Wotherspoon said of his sequence of events with Othmann. “That was pretty dirty. Glad to respond that way.” 

After finding himself in a logjam during his time five years in the Islanders’, Wotherspoon carved out a solid footing after working his way into a rotational role during his first season in Boston. With Andrew Peeke’s emergence late last season and Nikita Zadarov’s signing, Wotherspoon enters this year’s camp as a likely seventh defenseman option.

Lysell and Merkulov had quiet nights

Even in a glorified scrimmage with little to no flow, Lysell’s speed and quickness still stood out in spurts — notably with preventing an empty-net tally in the closing seconds. Merkulov, meanwhile, provided an early presence with a secondary assist on Cole Koepke’s rebound tally 1:34 in.

Yet, the talented prospects looked passive in their decision-making with and without the puck. That indecisiveness proved costly in the third when the Rangers pounced on Lysell’s turnover in Boston’s attacking end, transitioning quickly up ice for Belzile’s bad angle tally to go ahead for good.

With high hopes entering camp, Lysell and Merkulov each encountered a roadblock in the preseason opener. The two combined to fire just for shot attempts, none of which landed on net.

Perhaps Lysell and Merkulov will find their footing once Charlie Coyle, David Pastrnak, Elias Lindholm, Pavel Zacha — and perhaps Brad Marchand — become part of the preseason rotation. As the de facto top offensive options for Sunday’s preseason opener, however, they both took a step back as potential opening night middle-six candidates.