BOSTON — After Sunday’s forgettable performance, it was natural to start to wonder a little about Fabian Lysell.
The right winger came into Bruins’ training camp with a real chance to earn a roster spot and maybe even the vacant one on a line with Brad Marchand and Charlie Coyle. But with all of that to play for, he was largely invisible against the Rangers, without even a shot on goal.
This was the same guy who similarly lacked impact during training camp last year. He faded into the background while Matt Poitras, who is younger and less-heralded, had a breakout preseason and earned an NHL roster spot. Over the year, among Bruins prospects, Lysell was passed by Poitras, Justin Brazeau maybe even Georgii Merkulov, who all made NHL debuts last year, while Lysell stayed in Providence.
Coming into camp, Jim Montgomery said Lysell had an opportunity to play himself into position to earn a roster spot. But at morning skate on Tuesday, his tone was different. Montgomery didn’t bury the kid, but he sent a pretty clear message:
If Lysell wants to get his Italian food from the North End instead of Federal Hill this year, he needs to be better.
“He needs to do a little more than he’s done if he wants to make the Bruins,” Montgomery said.
Lysell agreed.
“That’s what I expected after the first game,” he said.
Because he’s been one of the highest-profile prospects for a team with a thin pipeline, it’s easy to forget that Lysell is still developing at 21 years old. After a conversation with Providence coach Ryan Mougenel on Monday, he took a step.
“He told me ‘trust your game and get back to basics’,” Lysell said.
He came out assertive from the beginning and was rewarded for it. Early in the second period, with Boston on a power play that Lysell helped create by drawing a penalty on Hardy Haman Aktell, Michael Callahan fed him at the top of the left-wing faceoff circle. Recognizing the time he had, he waited for Tyler Johnson to slide in front of Capitals goalie Hunter Shepard, and then snapped off a shot through the traffic and by the screened goalie into the top corner.
“A little bit better than last game. It’s nice to see one go in, but it’s just a start,” he said. “I felt way more smooth out there. Better timing. I made better decisions with the puck. All around a better game.”
But it wasn’t just the goal. Lysell was active. It was impossible not to notice him, two days after he’d been hard to find.
“We’re really happy with his growth from Game 1 to Game 2,” Montgomery said. “How determined he was on pucks. How determined he was trying to get shots on net and making plays offensively and tracking back defensively. … I said he needs to improve and he did improve. Good on him.”
All one good preseason game does is negate the struggles from the last one – a birdie after a bogey to bring him back to par. Now Lysell will have to prove he can be consistent and build off of Tuesday’s showing. This game just earned him more chances.
He was eager to take advantage.
“You’ve got to perform if you want to play,” he said.
Follow MassLive sports columnist Matt Vautour on Twitter at @MattVautour424.
