After a completely forgettable 2024 preseason debut for Fabian Lysell, already considered one of the most polarizing prospects in the B's pipeline, Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery made it clear that the 2021 first-round pick was going to have to be a lot better if he had hopes of making the NHL club out of camp.

To Montgomery's credit, he decided to go right back to Lysell in the Black and Gold's second game of their preseason slate. And to Lysell's credit, he answered, with a goal and a penalty drawn in a 4-2 victory over the Capitals at TD Garden.

"I was really happy with his growth from game one to game two and how determined he was on pucks, how determined he was and trying to get shots on net making plays offensively and tracking back defensively," Montgomery said of Lysell. "Good game for him."



In a way, it felt like the Bruins were treated to the full Lysell experience, as the crafty Swedish winger used his speed to gain the attacking zone throughout the night, and kept the Caps’ defense on their heels all night long. It wasn’t hard to notice that Lysell’s ability to challenge ’em with speed was getting under their skin, too, as Washington noticeably upped their physicality on Lysell as the night went on.

"I felt way more smooth out there, better timing, made better decisions with the puck," Lysell, who said that he did not hear about Montgomery's callout (callout is strong, so call it a preseason callout), admitted. "So, all around, a better game."

But for the Bruins, this was about as balanced a scoring night as they could’ve hoped for, with goals from four different scorers in the winning effort.

Riley Tufte kicked things off in the opening frame when his shot was gloved and own-goaled by the Capitals’ Hunter Shepard, while Lysell’s aforementioned power-play goal was followed by a second-period strike from Patrick Brown and a third-period tuck from Justin Brazeau.

Elsewhere up front, it was another mostly solid showing from Georgii Merkulov.

After collecting an assist on the B’s first goal of the preseason this past Sunday, Merkulov continued his positive momentum with an absolutely beautiful helper on Brazeau’s goal in this contest. Merkulov also drew a penalty in the win, and while his power-play efforts came with a pair of turnovers, he also made a wicked pass to Hampus Lindholm that set up a strong look for the the club during a 5-on-4 sequence. Speaking after the win, Montgomery cited Merkuklov's power-play work, and stressed that he (and the rest of the unit for that matter) needed to be quicker on the man advantage.

And there was also the veteran Tyler Johnson. In camp on a pro tryout with the hopes of extending his NHL career, the 34-year-old Johnson’s 2024 preseason debut came with a secondary assist on Brazeau’s marker, and it was Johnson who provided a strong screen on the Lysell power-play goal.

In goal, Joonas Korpisalo stopped all seven shots faced in over 29 minutes of action in the B’s net.

It felt like Korpisalo’s most difficult shots against came in the first period, but the 30-year-old finished strong, including a prolonged stretch in the B’s end in the second period that featured Korpisalo made a strong save on a long-range look through traffic. Those shots were an undeniable and at times glaring issue during Korpisalo’s forgettable one-year run with the Senators a year ago.

I mean, he made four saves, I thought difficult, saves look real easy," Montgomery said of Korpisalo. "And you can just tell he's composed and big in the net. I think Washington had a lot of opportunities that missed the net on because he's out and he's taken away the angle. So the shooters try and be perfect. They missed the net. It's a small thing that good goalies do."

And though he allowed a goal on his first shot in relief of Korpisalo, Michael DiPietro finished this game with 13 saves on 15 shots to help the Bruins seal the deal on the victory.

Up next, the Bruins will head to New York City for a Thursday night preseason head-to-head with the Rangers. It will be the first road contest of Boston’s preseason slate.

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