Bruins Wrap Up Road Portion of Exhibition Schedule in Philly

BostonBruins.com - Jack Studnicka scored his second of the preseason and Jeremy Swayman made 34 saves, but the Bruins fell to the Philadelphia Flyers, 2-1, in overtime on Monday night in their final road exhibition contest of the preseason. Here are some notes and observations from the loss:

Studnicka Strikes Again

Jack Studnicka continued his stellar preseason with a power-play tally in the second period. The centerman gave Boston a 1-0 lead when he lunged toward the net and whacked home a loose puck from the crease after a Jakub Lauko chance rang off the post with 6:35 left in the middle frame.
"I liked his game, I liked his commitment to playing a 200-foot game, how he managed pucks," said Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy. "He did not turn the puck over like he has in the past…he's trying to stick with more simple approaches with how he's gonna generate offense. He'll end up making some high-end plays because he can.
"But it's worked out better for him because he hasn't been chasing back the other way. His defending's been excellent in terms of what we've asked. He's gonna keep working on his strength in faceoffs."
Cassidy admitted that the Bruins brass will "have to take a look" at whether Studnicka has earned a spot on Boston's Opening Night roster.
"Do we push someone to the wing or not?" said Cassidy. "That will be a conversation. As I said the other night, we like how we are in the middle of the ice. But if our lineup looks better because we think he's ready and we have to move someone around, we'll do it.
"It's just, are we giving Charlie Coyle what he deserves? He's a proven NHL player. He has to play some games here. He's gonna play Wednesday hopefully. But after that he's gonna have to play some games before we start moving a lot of the pieces around."

Swayman Stands Tall

Swayman appears to be in top form heading into the regular season as he closed out his strong exhibition slate with a 34-save performance against the Flyers. Linus Ullmark will get the call for the preseason finale on Wednesday night against the Washington Capitals.
"It was awesome to get some shots," said Swayman. "Defense was great. We take pride in our defensive zone and I thought the guys cleared out rebounds, had good structure."
Cassidy said there will be another serious discussion when it comes to determining whether Swayman or Ullmark starts in goal on Opening Night.
"Sway's been rock solid," said Cassidy. "Ullmark, just in terms of the exhibition play…hasn't been as sharp as Swayman. We know that. Some of that could be that he's ramping it up a little bit, he didn't finish last year playing. There's some different things that we have to factor into our decision.
"Either way, I think we're going to be comfortable with who goes in there. They're both going to see time in October. We knew that going in that there would be a certain level of competition.
"We know that Sway looks like how he left off last year, that's he's solid and the goals that are getting by him are good goals. He's sealing well and challenging how he needs to. He looks sharp."

Zboril Finding Comfort Zone

Jakub Zboril is finally feeling comfortable - even if he doesn't have an everyday place in the B's lineup locked down.
After breaking camp with the big club last season, the 24-year-old played 42 games for the Bruins before an injury, a dip in his play, and Boston's trade deadline acquisition of Mike Reilly limited further opportunity on Boston's third pairing later in the year.
But despite entering this camp with a bit more uncertainty than a year ago, the former first-round pick is far more at ease in his approach.
"So much higher," Zboril, who had two shots on goal in 17:32 of ice time on Monday night, said of his confidence heading into this season. "I feel like that one year showed me so much. Coming here this year, I feel like I'm at that level and I'm not really on the ice being scared of making a mistake. I feel like I'm a player who can play this game. If I do [make] a mistake, I'll just recover and make a better play next time."
Zboril credited former Bruins blue liner Kevan Miller, his defense partner last season, for mentoring him as he found his way at the NHL level.
"It can't be only some days - you have to show up every single day, every practice, games, you have to be there and be a good pro and lead by example," Zboril said of what he learned. "I was told to come to camp and compete for my spot. I think I did a pretty good job of doing that, coming to camp and competing for my spot."
Right now, Zboril is in a battle with John Moore and Connor Clifton for the Bruins' sixth defense spot, though Clifton appears to have the edge to this point in camp.
"I like his professionalism, his approach," said Cassidy. "He looks like he's conditioned better, practicing better. Who knows how that will translate one he gets in? He'll get in. There's always gonna be injuries, it's just the way it works out. And see how he does. He can play right [defense].
"We're still keeping an eye on Cliffy and Johnny and Zboril for that final spot. I think the other five are set. Cliffy being a right stick has the advantage and he hasn't done anything to hurt himself either.
"He's got to push his way in and stay in...be ready to go and once he gets his chance, be ready to go so we can't take him out again. He's a guy we like we've just got some guys ahead of him."