Carlo: 'I Want to Have a Shooter's Mentality This Season'

BOSTON - Brandon Carlo was nothing but honest as he recalled his preseason tally against the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday night.
The blue liner ripped home a blast from the right-wing circle that zipped past Flyers goalie Martin Jones, giving Boston a 3-1 first-period lead in the exhibition contest.
It was a rocket, but not one he was necessarily trying to pinpoint.
"Just shot it towards the net. I'd be lying if I said I was aiming it," Carlo said with a sly smile following Friday's training camp session at Warrior Ice Arena.

Nevertheless, it was exactly what Carlo is looking to do more of this season. Shooting the puck will be more of a priority for the blue liner, who potted a career-high six goals on 88 shots during his rookie campaign in 2016-17 but has scored just nine on 346 shots in the four seasons since.
"Overall, if you put pucks on net, good things happen," said Carlo, who donned the 'A' on his sweater for his first tune-up of the preseason. "I want to definitely have a shooter's mentality this year, whether it be from the point or in those areas, especially when I'm closer to the net.
"It worked out well. Was happy to score one and hopefully I have many more to come in the regular season."

The 24-year-old and his fiancé, Mayson, are fresh off a summer filled with plenty of personal delight, highlighted by the birth of their daughter, Wren, in early September. That joy came on the heels of the Colorado native signing a six-year contract extension with the Bruins in July that will keep him in the Spoked-B through the 2026-27 season.
Despite those life changes, Carlo is not planning on altering his approach as he gets set to embark on his sixth season with the Bruins.
"I'm going to be looking at the season the same way, just building confidence throughout the entire time," said Carlo. "It's nice to be in this position with a little bit more comfort, obviously. That's great. But I still get those nerves for the first couple games.
"It's funny, when you get back out there and get back into the swing of things with the speed of the game, regardless of whether you've been in this league for 20 years like [Zdeno Chara] or one year. It's a lot of fun to challenge yourself.
"I take each game as a challenge and this year I just want to compete as hard as possible and focus on that. Whether that's preseason, regular season, or playoffs, I just want to go out and compete and have fun."

Getting Greasy

Bruce Cassidy was quite complimentary of his new-look third line which potted another goal on Thursday night when Jake DeBrusk notched his second of the preseason. Linemates Nick Foligno and Erik Haula also connected on a pretty power-play tally from Craig Smith.
"They seem to have chemistry, they're moving the puck around…playing together…it's worked out so far," said Cassidy. "Jake and Haula like to play straight line with speed. Nick will go to the net. He's been around, he's smart. He can probably complement players in a lot of different ways the way he plays the game. He certainly has the IQ to keep up with anybody he plays with.
"It's early, but that's what we had penciled in originally. Doesn't always work out that way but [good] so far."
Cassidy was particularly pleased with DeBrusk's effort on his goal against the Flyers, noting how the winger went hard to the net and created a second chance for himself in the crease.
"Doesn't matter who you're playing with, that's a goal that is nice to see second effort, attacking the net, getting his own rebound," said Cassidy. "I like that part of it. If that is happening because he's excited about his linemates, then great. Whatever the reason is, that's the type of game we want to see - greasier."

Maintenance for Marchand

Brad Marchand did not skate on Friday as he took a day away from the ice for maintenance. Whether or not the winger plays in Saturday's exhibition contest against the New York Rangers is to be determined.
"I don't know about tomorrow, we'll see about that," said Cassidy. "But we're not too worried about it; it's nothing serious."