Youngsters power Bruins to another preseason win

The third tilt of a six-game preseason grind came with a veteran-heavy lineup for the Bruins, but it was the young guns who did the damage in a victory over the Flyers at TD Garden.

On the board with four goals by the night’s end, the fun started with a power-play tip from Marc McLaughlin, and through Troy Grosenick for a 1-0 edge at the 7:09 mark of the second period.

The Billerica, Mass. native then built off that with a net-front bang parade that ultimately trickled through Grosenick just over the midway point of the third period.

Finishing the night with two goals (and on the ice for three Boston goals in total) to go with four shots and a hit in 15:49, McLaughlin is certainly making it tough for the B’s to send him down to Providence.

“[McLaughlin] had a really impactful game,” Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery said after the win. “He’s a very conscientious young man. He tries to do things the right way all the time, whether it’s practice or the games, and he pays attention to details.”

One of the few Bruins still in camp who doesn’t require waivers to be moved from the NHL to the AHL, that alone seemingly works against McLaughlin’s chances of making the Day 1 roster. (If teams can buy themselves any window of additional time with waiving a player, they often will.) But don’t tell the 23-year-old, who made 11 appearances with the Big B’s last year after leaving Boston College, that just yet.

“Yeah, absolutely,” McLaughlin said when asked if he feels like he ‘belongs’ up here. I feel confident.

“Everything needs to be earned for me. I’ve been keeping that mindset. I need to show up every day and earn a spot. It’s not gonna be handed to me.”

He’s certainly in the mix for what’s an absolutely jam-packed bottom-six battle.

“Decisions are getting tougher and tougher,” Montgomery admitted after the victory. “But that’s what us as coaches are looking to see.”

In addition to a pair from McLaughlin, 2019 first-round Johnny Beecher put forth a two-goal performance of his own, the first coming via a redirect of a Derek Forbort shot late in the third, and the second coming with the Philly net empty with 2:48 left in the game.

And in goal, Linus Ullmark was strong when he needed to be, and finished with a 21-save shutout.

Before the game, and in what was a bit of surprise move, the Bruins scratched David Pastrnak from the game. But before there’s any sort of panic, it wasn’t anything more than the Bruins wanting to get a look at 2021 first-round pick Fabian Lysell in a top-six role with Taylor Hall and David Krejci.

Ironically enough, however, the Bruins lost both Lysell and Hall in this game. Lysell’s injury came on a heavy hit from the Flyers’ Rasmus Ristolainen, while Hall departed in the second period.

The word is that both players are dealing with what you’d consider minor injuries, and should be back in action within a day or two.

The Bruins, meanwhile, will get back to work Monday night in New Jersey against the Devils.