Bruins Wrap: Boston Falls To Flyers In Preseason Opener

The Boston Bruins opened up the preseason Saturday night with a 2-1 loss against the Philadelphia Flyers at Wells Fargo Center.

The Bruins now are 0-1 in the preseason while the Flyers own a 1-0 record.

Check out the full box score here.

ONE BIG TAKEAWAY
Two major things stood out from the Bruins’ first game action: The players on both teams took the exhibition contest seriously — maybe too seriously — and Boston’s power player issues are still there.

The Bruins, who didn’t play the majority of their regulars, dropped the gloves not once, but twice. After delivering a big hit on Antoine Roussel in the opening frame, Boston defenseman Connor Carrick threw jabs with Wade Allison. But that didn’t fully quench the Bruins and Flyers’ desire to fight. In the second period, Bruins forward A.J. Greer got into it with Hayden Hodgson. While the fighting provided some entertainment, it probably wasn’t needed for a game that didn’t matter. But hey, at least it showed the players cared about what was happening despite the outcome not having any impact on either team’s record.

Boston struggled on the power play in the playoffs last year, and it did nothing to ease any concerns about the unit in the loss. The Bruins went 0-for-6 on the man-advantage, including not capitalizing on a 5-on-3 opportunity. If there’s one thing first-year coach Jim Montgomery needs to fix at the start of his tenure, it’s the power play.

STARS OF THE GAME
— Jackson Cates scored the decisive goal for the Flyers as he got his shot past Kyle Keyser with 4:40 left in the third period. The tally gave Cates a leg up on his brother, Noah, who also found the back of the net for Philadelphia.

— Jakub Lauko notched the lone tally for the Bruins, and it was a key one. The fourth-line winger snuck a shot in off an assist from Josiah Didier to level the score with with 7:10 remaining.

— Felix Sandstrom got the start in net for Philadelphia and stood tall between the pipes, recording 17 saves and not letting anything past him.

WAGER WATCH
DraftKings Sportsbook set the game’s over/under at six goals, and the two sides came nowhere close to reaching that mark. A $100 bet on the Under, which had -110 odds, would have netted out a total of $190.91.

UP NEXT ON NESN
The Bruins continue their six-game preseason slate on Tuesday when they host the New York Rangers at TD Garden. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET, and you can watch the game on NESN+.