The New York Islanders may never see Bobby Robins again, but on Tuesday night in Boston they saw more than enough of 64 in black. With some forward spots open on the Bruins’ roster, Robins is doing everything he can to make a name for himself.

Robins made sure to hit everything in sight in his preseason debut with the Bruins, finishing with a game-high 7 hits. Robins created some noise right off the bat, laying a thunderous hit on Islanders’ defenseman Thomas Hickey just seconds into his first shift of the game. Later in the second period on back-to-back shifts, Robins introduced himself to Matt Martin with a pair of big hits.

Although it’s unlikely Robins finds his name on the Bruins’ roster when the 2014-15 season officially kicks off next week, showing the Bruins’ brass what he has to offer is something very important to Robins.

Playing alongside Chris Kelly and Jordan Caron, Robins did a good job keeping his game as simple as he could.

“Yeah I’m trying to, we always say keep it simple, get the pucks out, get the pucks in, and get the pucks to the net,” said Robins. “And good things seem to happen when you’re doing that and you’re playing physical. That’s how our line was buzzing today. Unfortunately didn’t get the win, but took some positives from it, kept it simple and had some chances.”

Robins doesn’t have much offensive punch, nor is he a defensive specialist, but what Robins has is something special. The 32-year old Robins has heart, and has a ton of it. Robins’ hard work and passion for the game is something that doesn’t go unnoticed.

“I see a better player. I think he’s certainly making a case for himself,” said Bruins head coach Claude Julien following his team’s 5-3 preseason loss to the Islanders Tuesday night.

“When you see what he brings and how hard he works and the energy that he gives our team, and everything else that we know about him, I’m certainly not ready to write him off yet.”

With the departure of Shawn Thornton the Bruins lost a ton of grit, and lost one of their toughest players. If the Bruins are looking for someone to fill Thornton’s shoes, Robins is their guy.

Spending the last three seasons in Providence, Robins got to see a lot of Thornton, learning a lot from the veteran in the process.

“He’s one of the best at that role, the power forward, fighter. I got to watch him for many years and talk to him, and pick his brain,” added Robbins.

“So he’s been a good mentor to me, and I’ve learned a lot of lessons. It’s a work in progress, so I’m just trying to get better every single day, and learn lessons every day and get better.”

Despite four years of hockey at UMass-Lowell, Robins has never played inside the TD Garden. Tuesday was an awesome experience for the Peshtigo, Wisconsin native.

“Oh of course. It was great to play. This was really my first game in the Garden, aside from that scrimmage that we had a couple years ago,” Robins said. “So it’s great to be out there and see the fans. The adrenaline was going, and I wanted to get the place rocking and get some hits in” said Robins.

With a week to go until the Bruins host the Philadelphia Flyers in their season opener, this is the closest Robins has ever come to finally getting his shot at the NHL. For Robins, all he can do is play his game and hope the rest falls into place.

“I try not to get too amped up, I mean it’s definitely exciting and I look at it through the big picture and see that I am right there on the cusp,” said Robins. “But I am really keeping the mentality of staying at an even keel and doing what I’ve done every single day over the past many years to get to where I am at now and I am not going to change anything and if I am going to change they will be little things of what I can do better like diet and this and that.”

If I had to guess, I would say Robins will be suiting up in an NHL game for the Bruins sooner rather than later.