BOSTON –– The Boston Bruins close out their exhibition schedule on Friday, facing the Washington Capitals at 7 p.m. at Capital One Arena.
With opening night at TD Garden just four days away, head coach Marco Sturm is opting for an NHL-regular lineup in the final dress rehearsal. The internal competition has been on full display throughout training camp.
“It’s good to see. Not just the D, the forwards, too. We have a lot of bodies. Today and tomorrow, there will be some movement, some decisions that have to be made. But it’s a good thing; it’s healthy,” Sturm said. “Hopefully it helps the players, too. Somebody will be not happy, but I think this is the time to kind of learn about yourself. Do I push a little extra or do I just give up? Those are the moments now when you have a bigger camp, a lot of players around – we want to see that extra push out of them.”
Sturm said the kid line of Marat Khusnutdinov, James Hagens and Fraser Minten will “most likely” be together against the Capitals.
“We’ve been practicing for quite a bit here, so I am going to keep them most likely together and take it day by day,” he said.
Mason Lohrei left practice on Wednesday with an injury, but has skated with the team the last two days and feels ready to go for Friday’s matchup.
“Just felt like I tweaked something. Just kind of got it checked out and ready to go here,” Lohrei said. “These games are super invaluable for our team getting ready for the start of the year here. It’s always fun to get out there with the boys. I’m excited to go at it tonight…It’s such a short camp, too, so you try to do everything you can with the little time that you get. I would say it has gone pretty well. Tonight is another opportunity to showcase myself. I’m just looking to do that in the best way possible.”
Lohrei has been paired with Jonathan Aspirot for long stretches of camp. That is a combination Sturm could stick to.
“I think we work well together. Obviously, I’ve enjoyed playing the off-side. He’s really quick to close, physical, simple, moves the puck well, plays hard,” Lohrei said. “I think those are all things that can complement my game. I’m trying to do all those same things and also jump up in the play and make some plays offensively. I think it definitely think it could be a good recipe.”
