It ends with shootout

Preseason over, decisions aren't

Patrice Bergeron prepares to fire a shootout goal past Capitals goalie Jose Theodore. (Luis M. Alvarez/Associated Press)

WASHINGTON - The Bruins had seen just about everything in the preseason, ranging from Patrice Bergeron's return to the emergence of Blake Wheeler to the dominance of Tuukka Rask. But after seven exhibition games, they hadn't gone to the shootout.

That changed yesterday at the Verizon Center.

After 65 minutes of play, the Bruins were tied with the Capitals, 4-4. But after their first and only shootout round, the Bruins claimed a 5-4 victory to conclude the preseason. Phil Kessel and Patrice Bergeron, Boston's first two shooters, buried their attempts. Both went forehand and low on Jose Theodore. Manny Fernandez turned aside two of three Washington attempts.

"I was hoping that we'd win in regulation," said coach Claude Julien. "That would have felt good as well. But if you're going to get there, it was something that went through my mind. This was our eighth game and we didn't have a shootout yet, and we wanted our shooters to get that chance to get into it. So tonight was a good night for it. Everything fell into place because it ended up getting us the win."

Last season, the Bruins went to the shootout 13 times and won six. The Bruins finished two points ahead of ninth-place Carolina last season in the Eastern Conference standings, indicating the importance of the shootout.

"I think you can practice it all you want," said Fernandez, who stopped Michael Nylander and Alexander Semin yesterday while allowing No. 2 shooter Alex Ovechkin to beat him five-hole. "I don't think it matches what you see in the game. Somewhere in practice, you're going to see four or five guys go almost at the same time, so it doesn't give you a good chance to rest in-between. I like those. I've always been somewhat successful. Just want to keep doing it."

Last year, Kessel scored the deciding goal in five of the club's six shootout wins. Over his first two NHL seasons, Kessel is 9 for 20 in the shootout. All of his nine strikes have been deciding goals.

Power-play Patrice

If Julien continues what he's started in the preseason, Bergeron will be manning the left point on the No. 1 power-play unit come Thursday's regular-season opener against Colorado. Bergeron doesn't have a feared slapper like point partner Zdeno Chara, but the center makes up for his lack of power with his hands and hockey sense.

The aim of any man-advantage unit is to showcase different looks to keep penalty-killers from taking away one strength. If things are clicking for the Bruins, they'll have a number of scoring options on the power play: Chara for one-timers, Michael Ryder in the slot for wristers and snap shots, and Chara for backdoor tap-ins as three primary threats.

And while the power play will flow through Marc Savard, the club's most natural playmaker, on the right-side half-boards, Bergeron's heads-up play projects to be a significant component of Boston's attack.

"You can draw it on the board as much as you want," Bergeron said of the power play, "but when you get out there, you've got to read it."

Deadlines approaching

The Bruins must file their final roster with the NHL by 3 p.m. Wednesday. However, they must submit players who must clear waivers by tomorrow. Bubble players who must clear waivers include Peter Schaefer, Jeremy Reich, Nate Thompson, and Petteri Nokelainen. With that in mind, general manager Peter Chiarelli said the final round of cuts will take place today or tomorrow.

"When we make the decision, there'll be agreement," Chiarelli said before yesterday's game. "Right now, we haven't really come to any definitive conclusions."

Chiarelli said, however, that he and his staff have a sense of how the roster will shape up.

P.J. Axelsson, in the final year of his three-year contract, could be sought on the trade market. But according to Neil Abbott, Axelsson's agent, the Bruins have not approached the left wing about waiving his limited no-trade clause. Considering how little time the Bruins have to finalize their roster, it's likely they would have inquired with Axelsson by now if a trade were considered.

Full house

Chiarelli was joined yesterday by assistant GM Jim Benning, vice president Cam Neely, and director of hockey operations and player development Don Sweeney . . . Nokelainen, Reich, Thompson, Axelsson, Vladimir Sobotka, and Aaron Ward didn't travel with the team to Washington . . . Chiarelli didn't anticipate placing Nokelainen (groin) on injured reserve to start the regular season . . . Yesterday was Chris Bourque's final crack at convincing the Washington bosses he should stay in the NHL. Bourque tipped a shot by defenseman Karl Alzner past Fernandez at 13:46 of the third period to tie the game at 4. Ray Bourque's son, currently in his fourth year of pro hockey, never has broken camp with the big club.

Fluto Shinzawa can be reached at fshinzawa@globe.com.