BOSTON – While the Bruins didn’t do nearly enough to avoid losing their first preseason game on Monday night, there were some highlights among the B’s players out there on the ice. Fourth line center candidate Joonas Kemppainen had a good performance highlighting the solid bottom-six play, and the combination of strength, size, smarts and aggressiveness that could make him a real mainstay on the penalty kill.
He also teamed with Chris Kelly and Max Talbot in a fourth line that one could easily envision starting out this season. At one point in the second period, Kemppainen freed Kelly for a breakaway chance that he couldn’t convert and helped him finish with seven generated shot attempts including a team-high five shots on net. In all, Kelly, Talbot and Kemppainen had 10 of Boston’s 65 shot attempts throughout Monday night’s loss.
“I think that whole line was good tonight. I think for the longest of time that was probably our best line. They were generating stuff with the fore-check and creating turnovers, and stuff like that. I think the three of them had some decent chemistry there tonight,” said Claude Julien. “I didn’t mind that line at all. [Kemppainen] continues to be smart, he continues to be strong. I think if anything, [he’s a] guy that comes here for the first time only gets better with time. He seemed like he was a real smart player [and] seemed to be in the right positions.
“When they told me about him and I looked at him, I actually thought he was a pretty intelligent player. With his age he’s got some experience, and he’s played pro for a while. That wasn’t necessarily a concern, I don’t think. Biggest thing was, how will he adapt to North American hockey? When you’re playing on a smaller rink things happen a little quicker, and stuff like that. So he’s shown me that he’s not afraid, he stood there in front of our net and wasn’t going to take anything from the other team. I like a lot of things about him, and on draws he continues to be strong and smart, penalty killer. We’ll continue to evaluate him as well.”
Kelly hasn’t really practiced much with Kemppainen and Talbot as an actual trio, and he was happy to see that didn’t stop them for having a successful night together. Instead the veteran B’s forward saw some things he looked right off the bat, and those things might end up making them a successful fourth line when the season begins.
“As a line we were moving our feet and creating some chances, and we were skating well,” said Kelly. “I think that was the most important part, especially early on. For a lot of us it’s our second or third game and you can see guys starting to get their legs under them.
“[Kemppainen] doesn’t cheat the game. He plays the game right. He works at both ends, and Max [Talbot] and I are talkers. So we try to make the game as easy as possible for everyone and I thought… I thought he played well.”
Boston Bruins
It remains to be seen if Kemppainen actually cracks the NHL roster on opening night, or if Monday night’s fourth line is the one that actually starts the Bruins season. But the trio took a big step forward toward that happening with a big performance in the final week of preseason action, and with jobs on the line.