Bruins announce 2019 preseason schedule
Fans of the Boston Bruins cheer in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference First Round during the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Toronto Maple Leafs at TD Garden on April 13, 2019 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)
The Boston Bruins still have an NHL Draft, free agency period, and training camp to kick off, but the team got ahead of one thing on Tuesday and announced their schedule for a six-game preseason slate.
A two-game cut from last year’s unnecessary eight-game grind that seemed to bother players more than anything else, the Bruins are following a relatively simple formula this fall, with three road games followed by three home games.
It will yet another camp full of battles, too, as the Bruins are expected to enter camp with a surplus of young guns battling for NHL roles both on the wings of their top nine and on their blue line, and with pretty much everything except for the Bruins’ one-two punch of Tuukka Rask and Jaroslav Halak in net up for debate in terms of Bruce Cassidy’s optimal squad.
And that’s without factoring in any potential trades or free agent additions the team will make between now and then.
Or the short offseason in front of the Bruins after a run to the 2019 Stanley Cup Final.
“My biggest challenge, I believe, as a coach is how to get these guys ready and how to be good in October,” Cassidy said on Monday. “I really believe there’s merit to the mental part of it that takes its toll. I believe that, and I’ve already started discussing that with our staff and some of the people around – even some of the players, at exit meetings, so I do believe that’ll be our challenge, and that’s a good one to have. We finished the way we did, so we’ll have to make sure we’re on top of that.”
The complete preseason schedule goes as follows…
Monday, September 16 (Prudential Center, Newark, N.J.)
– Preseason game vs. New Jersey Devils, 7 p.m. ET.
Thursday, September 19 (Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, Penn.)
– Preseason game vs. Philadelphia Flyers, 7 p.m. ET.
Saturday, September 21 (United Center, Chicago, Ill.)
– Preseason game vs. Chicago Blackhawks, 8:30 p.m. ET.
Monday, September 23 (TD Garden, Boston, Mass.)
– Preseason Game vs. Philadelphia Flyers, 7 p.m. ET.
Wednesday, September 25 (TD Garden, Boston, Mass.)
– Preseason Game vs. New Jersey Devils, 7 p.m. ET
Saturday, September 28 (TD Garden, Boston, Mass.)
– Preseason Game vs. Chicago Blackhawks, 3 p.m. ET.
