Stempniak Making His Case

PHILADELPHIA - Bruce Cassidy has a bounty of young talent auditioning for jobs under his watch this preseason. But it may just be one of the oldest players in camp that catches his eye enough to capture a spot on the Bruins' roster.
At 35 years old, Lee Stempniak - in camp on a professional tryout agreement - is Boston's leading scorer this preseason with five points (goal, four assists) in three games. The versatile winger, who played 19 games for the Bruins in 2015-16, has certainly given Boston's brass something to think about.

"He could," Cassidy said when asked if Stempniak might grab a roster spot. "He's come in here and done what we've asked him to do which is make plays, have composure, make good decisions with the puck, and still be a good 200-foot player. He's done that.
"We've seen some young mistakes out of our young players that we're going to allow them to play through. But at the same token we're going to have to address what's best for the club. Is it youth or a proven guy? Generally it's been youth around here if they bounce back, so we'll see over the next couple games."

Stempniak was one of the best players on the ice during the Bruins' 4-3 exhibition victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday night at Wells Fargo Center. The 13-year NHL veteran notched a goal and two assists while playing the right wing alongside youngsters Peter Cehlarik and Trent Frederic.
"For me, it was a good opportunity to play with two good players," said Stempniak. "They're big guys, strong on pucks, pretty offensive. It was nice to score a couple goals as a line."
The Dartmouth College alum helped jumpstart the Bruins when he ripped a wrister on Flyers goalie Brian Elliott from the left circle. The rebound popped out to Cehlarik, who was parked at the top of the crease to bat it home and give Boston a 1-0 lead at 4:15 of the first.
Stempniak dished out another helper just over five minutes later when he found Brandon Carlo from the corner. Carlo collected the feed and fired a wrister by Elliott that doubled Boston's lead at 9:31 of the opening frame.
"My strengths are some versatility," said Stempniak, who was hampered by injuries last season and only suited up in 37 games for the Carolina Hurricanes. " I can play up and down the lineup, both wings - that's something I tried to showcase. Obviously last year was a tough year with injuries, but other than that I've been pretty consistent with how I've played and put up points.
"For me, I think it's showing I can skate, I can still play, keep up with the pace of the game. I think I did that tonight."
Stempniak capped off his evening with his first goal of the preseason early in the third. Cehlarik took care of the dirty work, forcing a turnover high in the Flyers end, before his heavy forecheck down low freed the puck to Stempniak in the high slot. Stempniak let go a stifling one-timer that beat Elliott and extended the Bruins' lead to 4-0 just 2:05 into the final period.
"I've been waiting a long time for one of those," said Stempniak. "It was just a weird play…I've never had one like that before. It felt like practice. Someone had good pressure and I think their guy just sort of put it in the middle and no one was there."

Carlo Breaks Through

Before the game, assistant coach Kevin Dean told Carlo not to hesitate if he had opportunities to shoot the puck. The young blue liner headed that advice.
The 21-year-old ripped five shots on goal, including his wrister from the top of the slot that made it 2-0. After being held without a goal last season, Carlo was certainly pleased to get on the board, even if it's only preseason.
"We talk about stepping stones," said Carlo, who was one of the Bruins' three assistant captains on Monday night. "I worked on [my shot] a bit this summer, blue line stuff, that's what they kind of asked of me, so felt good to show an example of what I've been doing…can't score unless you put a puck towards the net."
Carlo also delivered four hits and blocked a shot in 23:24 of ice time, the game's second-highest total.
"I thought he was excellent," said Cassidy. "Up and down the ice, skating well. He missed an assignment on the PP there, the [Claude] Giroux goal, that we'll readdress what our responsibilities are. But other than that I thought he was excellent."

Cutting Edge

Cassidy said he expects to be down to one group for Tuesday's practice, indicating that another round of cuts could happen in the morning.
"I believe we'll have one group [on Tuesday] so there will be cuts, probably before," said Cassidy. "We'll have to discuss that in the morning but we're going to try to have one group on the ice. Might be a little bigger than normal, but won't be everybody that's here. We're going to have to trim down."
Before the game, defenseman Emil Johansson and forwards Cameron Hughes, Joona Koppanen, Zach Senyshyn, and Tanner Pond were assigned to Providence, while defenseman Axel Andersson was returned to Djugarden.

Standing Tall

Goalie Dan Vladar continued his strong preseason, stopping 34 of 37 shots. The 6-foot-5 Czech Republic native held Philadelphia off the board until Dale Weise ended the shutout with a shorthanded goal at 8:43 of the third.
"He's a gamer in there. He battles," said Cassidy. "The goals they scored, hard to fault him on, maybe the last one he committed first, but other than that he made some big saves. He's done his job."

Cehlarik Impresses

Cassidy also dished out praise to Cehlarik, who notched a goal and an assist, while also contributing a strong forecheck that led to Stempniak's third-period tally.
"He was good at the top of the crease," said Cassidy. "Big body. He's got a good stick on the forecheck…we always like him from the tops of the circles down. When he's moving his feet and creating forecheck, turnovers, that's a big part of it where he can really help us because he's got a good stick. I thought he was very good."
Chris Wagner scored the other Bruins goal, finishing off a nifty backhanded breakaway on the penalty kill at 12:37 of the second. Defenseman Jeremy Lauzon picked up a loose puck deep in Boston's end and sprung the winger with an outlet pass through the neutral zone.