With the regular season vastly approaching, the Bruins enter the last week of their preseason schedule with a better idea on how their opening night lineup will look when they take the ice against the Winnipeg Jets a week from Thursday.

Last week, GM Don Sweeney made numerous cuts, chopping the roster from 60 down to 36. That number will shrink into the 20’s over the next few days as Sweeney, head coach Claude Julien, the rest of the coaching staff and management finalize their rosters.

Some notable cuts so far include goaltenders Malcolm Subban and Zane McIntyre — both of whom will fight for the No. 1 spot between the pipes in Providence — as well as 2015 draft picks Jakub Zboril, Zachary Senyshyn, Jake DeBrusk and Brandon Carlo, who were all sent back to their junior teams.

How will the opening night roster look? We’ll find out more this week. For now, here’s an outlook entering the final week of training camp.

Forwards:

Zac Rinaldo and Joonas Kemppainen backcheck Derrick Brassard during Thursday’s pre-season game vs. the Rangers. (Photo by Joe Makarski, Bruins Daily)

Locks – Matt Beleskey, Patrice Bergeron, Brett Connolly, Loui Eriksson, Jimmy Hayes, Chris Kelly, David Krejci, Brad Marchand, David Pastrnak, Ryan Spooner, Max Talbot

Players battling for spots – Joonas Kemppainen, Alex Khoklachev, Zac Rinaldo

Likely to start in Providence – Anton Blidh, Austin Czarniak, Brian Ferlin, Tyler Randall, Frank Vetrano, Seth Griffith (MCL injury)

Eleven of the twelve forward spots are pretty much set in stone. The last decision for Sweeney, Julien and the Bruins brass will focus on the one vacancy on the fourth line.

Rinaldo brings energy and a physical game that would unquestionably be his spot in year’s past. On the other hand, his past history in Philadelphia of crossing that fine line is obviously something that is concerning. The former Flyer vowed to change his approach with the Bruins while not shying too far away from his game, but for a guy who has lost more career games to suspension (12) than he has goals (8), he’ll need to add some skill to back up his “changes.” So far, Rinaldo hasn’t shied away from contact and hasn’t quite crossed the fine line through the first two preseason games. Can he keep that up not only throughout this week but for the season as well?

The other two forwards vying for that fourth line spot bring more skill and that is something that would be beneficial to a line with two veteran grinders in Kelly and Talbot. Kemppainen comes over from Finland looking to make a smooth transition from the European to North American style of play. His size (6-2, 213 pounds), strength and versatility would be a good fit with Kelly and Talbot.

And then there’s Khoklachev, who is the most skilled and the most seasoned in the Bruins system of the three. Despite his success in Providence over the last two years, the Russian forward hasn’t had a good chance to display his game in Boston, playing in just four career games with the big club, and his frustration might be showing after he told reporters earlier in camp that “he will not play in Providence all his life.” Well, he has this week to showcase that he belongs on the big club. Otherwise, he may be spending more time in Providence, or Sweeney could find a way to trade him out of town.

Defensemen:

Matt Irwin enters the last week of the Bruins preseason as one of the favorites to fill one of the vacancies on the Bruins blue-line. (Photo by Joe Makarski, Bruins Daily.)

Locks – Zdeno Chara, Torey Krug, Adam McQuaid, Kevan Miller, Dennis Seidenberg (out eight weeks with back injury)

Players battling for spots – Matt Irwin, Colin Miller, Joe Morrow, Zach Trotman

Likely to start in Providence – Linus Arnesson, Chris Casto, Tommy Cross

Although Irwin, Trotman and Morrow will likely be on the opening night roster, there’s still work for them to do this week. Many pundits have pegged Trotman to skate alongside Chara (day to day with an upper body injury) on the first defensive unit. Irwin has shown enough through the first two games that he belongs as a fifth or sixth defenseman, while Morrow’s versatility as a two-way blue-liner can provide a shot in the arm for a team looking for a better transition game from their own end.

The play of Colin Miller this preseason, however, has made the decision tougher for Julien, Sweeney and company, and that’s a good thing. Coming over from the Kings in the Milan Lucic trade, Miller would fit the Bruins focus on their transition game from the blue-line and his shot power could be a good fit with Chara on one of the power play units. He skated 27 minutes in Thursday’s pre-season game against the Rangers — filling in largely for Chara who left the game during the first period — and held his own defensively while also moving the puck up ice.

With Seidenberg out, there’s a bigger opportunity for Miller, Morrow, Trotman and Irwin to prove they belong in the lineup. But there’s no denying that their depth on the back end is going to be tested and unless Sweeney goes out and makes a trade to strengthen the D core, chances are these young blue-lingers will have to make the most of what’s in front of them.

Goaltenders:

Locks – Tuukka Rask

Players battling for spots – Jonas Gustavsson (PTO), Jeremy Smith

The play of Jeremy Smith during his preseason action made Sweeney’s decision of sending both Subban and McIntyre down to Providence a little easier. His two starts against the Caps and Rangers last week trended in the right direction and his bounce back performance vs. New York after trailing 3-1 was something to be desired. All that’s left in front of him is Jonas Gustavsson, who missed a few days last week due to the birth of his daughter. The former Leafs and Wings goalie will backup Tuukka Rask tonight against the Red Wings, but he is expected to start in New York Wednesday against the Rangers, but he faces an uphill climb in the last week of the preseason to earn a contract and dethrone Smith for the No. 2 spot.