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BOSTON -- After missing Saturday’s preseason finale due to back spasms, Bruins forward David Krejci did not participate in Sunday’s practice at TD Garden.

Teammate Carl Soderberg also missed practice with an undisclosed injury.

“Right now I would say day-to-day,” Julien said after practice regarding Krejci's status. “Maybe as we move forward it might be better. To be honest with you, Krecj, I think it might be better. With Carl, I’m not sure yet, because the injury was suffered when he hit a rut the other night. It’s still up in the air as far as the seriousness of it. So we had first deemed it minor now it’s questionable.”

Prior to Sunday’s practice, the team announced it had waived forward Nick Johnson in hopes he would clear and could be assigned to Providence of the AHL. Johnson played well during training camp and the exhibition season, but there simply wasn’t enough room on the roster.

“It’s not an easy conversation, no doubt,” Julien said. “It’s one of those things that those kind of players understand. The little bit of time I’ve got to know him, he’s a real quality person, and in his mind he says, ‘I’m going to keep working hard because I have a feeling I’m going to be back here this year.’ So there’s confidence in his voice and determination and that’s what you want to hear. So I know he’s disappointed and you would hope he’s disappointed, but at the same time he seemed to have the right attitude to work his way back here.”

BOSTON -- In the moments following the Bruins’ 3-2 overtime preseason win over the Washington Capitals on Monday night at TD Garden, Boston newcomer Nick Johnson stood at his stall and realized he survived another round of cuts.

Johnson has stood out in the four preseason games he’s played for the Bruins with three goals, a fight, and consistent play. The 27-year-old forward has a bit more experience than the young players he’s battling for a roster spot. Johnson, Jordan Caron, Carl Soderberg, Reilly Smith, Ryan Spooner, Matt Lindblad and Matt Fraser remain on the training camp roster with only two exhibition games remaining.

All have made contributions during camp, but Johnson appears to have grabbed a hold of this opportunity.

“He’s in the mix. That much I can tell you; he’s in the mix,” said Bruins coach Claude Julien. “There are quite a few guys in the mix. We’re going to have some tough decisions to make at the end. And there’s no doubt those decisions will be made as a group with upper management, coaches involved, because everybody’s going to have an opinion and going to have to weigh pros and cons and everything else that goes with it.”

Having plenty of depth in the organization has been a priority for general manager Peter Chiarelli. He signed Johnson to a one-year deal worth $600,000 to add to that depth.

“It’s exciting,” Johnson said of his opportunity with the Bruins. “There’s a lot at stake. Everyone’s working hard. It’s a fun process and you can’t think about it too much. It’s coming along, I think.”

Chiarelli wanted to create a healthy competition during camp for a few spots on the Bruins’ regular-season roster. While most of the prospects are homegrown, Johnson’s journey to this point has been a different one.

During the 2012-2013 season, Johnson played for three different organizations and spent time in the ECHL, the AHL and the NHL. Overall, he has 104 games of NHL experience in his career between the Pittsburgh Penguins, Minnesota Wild and Phoenix Coyotes.

Now that he’s in Boston, he’s hoping to find a permanent spot on the roster.

“You always hope for the best,” Johnson said. “I had a great talk with [Bruins assistant GM] Don Sweeney the day I signed. [Signing with Boston] was kind of out of the blue, we thought we’d maybe have to wait. Some guys are struggling to find some jobs right now. I had a great talk with Don and it just seemed like an honest approach. Come in, play well, and be ready to go is all they want and that’s what they’re looking for, the best fit. The Bruins are the Bruins and it’s neat. It’s a neat place.”

Arriving in Boston as a newcomer and entering a locker room filled with veteran players who have had success, Johnson knew almost instantly that playing for the Bruins would be a different experience.

“It’s different than past teams I’ve been on,” admitted Johnson. “They’ve played together for years and won a Stanley Cup a couple of years ago and they’re always at the top level. They’ve got a close group, but they’re also fun guys, good guys, and it’s been good. Everyone’s been welcoming. It was a little intimidating at first, but it’s been fun. It’s been good.”

When you’re trying to impress possible future teammates, sometimes it’s not only about scoring goals.

In the opening seconds of the third period Monday, Washington’s Michal Cajkovsky knocked Bruins defenseman Adam McQuaid to the ice from behind. Johnson took exception and challenged Cajkovsky, and the two dropped the gloves.

“McQuaid was on the ground and I didn’t really like that, so I just did what you do; you protect Quaider when he’s on the ground. I didn’t get the best hold on the guy and he’s a little bigger than me but I’ve fought guys before and he didn’t get me too bad, so it was good.”

Julien has been impressed with Johnson’s compete level during training camp, and his status increased by coming to the defense of a teammate.

“Just another guy trying to show he’s a good teammate and he’s going to stick up for his team and he just went in there without hesitation, so kudos to him for doing that,” Julien said. “It’s not how many you win, it’s how many you show up for. So we give him credit for that.”

After the game, Chiarelli spoke with a few of the younger players still in camp and informed them they were being sent to the AHL to join the Providence Bruins. Forward Craig Cunningham and defenseman David Warsofsky were two of them. Cunningham sat in the Bruins’ locker room and was clearly disappointed.

No matter what Johnson’s fate holds in the coming days, he’s experienced enough to know that there will be times during the season when players are recalled from Providence and those players need to be ready to contribute.

“There are spots on this team to be had but it’s all about the team, the organization,” Johnson said. “It’s a hell of a long year and it is really like a family here. You’ve got to find some chemistry and it’s been nice to get that going. We’re all going to need [this family] because you never know what’s going to happen during the year. It’s nice to see guys doing well and it’s nice to have a lot of players because it means we’re going to be good and Providence will be, too.”

The Bruins open the 2013-2014 season on Oct. 3 when they host the Tampa Bay Lightning at TD Garden. Johnson’s goal is to be a member of the Bruins at that point.

“Naturally, you want to think about it but you can’t,” Johnson said. “Every day you’ve got to go hard because every day it could be your last. That’s the way it is.”

BOSTON -- It really doesn't matter where Bruins coach Claude Julien positions defenseman Zdeno Chara on the power play because the captain can do it all.

Chara scored a pair of power-play goals -- a redirect in front and a slap shot from the point -- to help Boston to a 3-2 overtime victory over the Washington Capitals Monday night at TD Garden.

Julien likes the idea of having Chara in front of the opposition's net during a Boston power play, so the coach is using the preseason games to station the 6-foot-9, 255-pound blueliner above the paint to create blind havoc.

Julien has tried this in the past but he's taking advantage of the exhibition games to get Chara more comfortable in that spot. During the team's morning skate Monday, Chara spent extra time working on redirecting the puck in front of the net. The work paid off.

In the waning minutes of the second period, the Bruins were on the power play and Chara was camped out in front when teammate Dennis Seidenberg took a shot from the left point. Chara set the screen and redirected the shot past Capitals goalie Braden Holtby to tie the game at 1-1 at 18:22 of the period. Chara's celebration did not reflect this was merely an exhibition game.

Since the start of training camp, Julien has worked Chara, David Krejci, Jarome Iginla, Milan Lucic and Torey Krug as the team's top power-play unit. Chara said he's comfortable being camped out in front and it continues to be a work in progress. The big man certainly creates a major blind spot for opposing goaltenders. Since Krug did not play, fellow blueliner Matt Bartkowski worked on the power-play unit.

With Monday's game tied at 1-1, the Bruins had a 5-on-3 man-advantage when Chara's slap shot from the point found its way past Holtby.

"He was good," Julien said of Chara. "When you look at the first goal, he tipped it in and then he was in front with a lot of chaos going on and a lot of loose pucks. He creates some havoc in front.

"Probably on a normal night we would have had more success, but their goaltender played extremely well tonight and we had a difficult time getting pucks past him. You’re going to see him at the point at times and during that 5-on-3 you saw what his shot can do from back there. We’ll continue to look at that and an 82-game season is a long year, so nothing is carved in stone."

"It’s obviously been pretty good for us in the preseason," Lucic said of the power play. "We just need to stay sharp and keep working on it in practice. Our puck movement is a lot better and there’s confidence in making those good passes and guys are shooting the puck when they have the opportunity."

The Capitals tied the game at 2-2 when Martin Erat beat Tuukka Rask during a scramble in front at 6:38 of the third.

In overtime, Chris Kelly scored the game-winner.

Drop 'em: There were a few fisticuffs in the opening period and continued throughout the game. First, the Bruins' Kevan Miller and the Capitals' Aaron Volpatti dropped the gloves at 9:46. Not only did the pair receive five minutes for fighting, each received an extra two minutes for unsportsmanlike conduct for removing their helmets prior to the fight, which is a new rule this season.

At 15:23 of the first period, Lucic and Washington's Joel Rechlicz went toe-to-toe in a spirited bout. The two exchanged haymakers and by the end of it both were exhausted.

In the second period, Rechlicz dropped the gloves again, this time going with Bruins defenseman Johnny Boychuk. Rechlicz received two minutes for unsportsmanlike conduct, five minutes for fighting and a 10-minute misconduct.

The donnybrooks continued in the opening seconds of the third period when the Capitals' Michal Cajkovsky knocked Bruins defenseman Adam McQuaid to the ice from behind. Boston's Nick Johnson, who's battling for a roster spot and has three goals in four preseason games, challenged Cajkovksy and the two went at it. Meanwhile, when McQuaid got to his feet, he dropped the gloves and went with Washington's Dane Byers.

Quiet night for Rask: Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask played his first complete game of the preseason, but didn’t face many shots and finished with 12 saves.

“That’s why you practice too, right? Rask said. “Every game is different. Sometimes you don’t get any shots and today was probably one of the worst-case scenarios for a goalie. But it’s still a game and you have to learn to live with that in those kinds of situations too.”

With only two preseason games remaining, Julien said after Monday’s game that Rask will play the final exhibition against the Winnipeg Jets on Friday in Saskatoon. The season opener is Oct. 3 against Tampa Bay at the Garden and Rask said he’ll be ready.

“I feel good out there,” Rask said. “I don’t feel like I have to do a lot of extra stuff. It’s about being sharp, getting some practices and maybe one good [preseason] game and then go from there.”

Roster cut by three: Craig Cunningham and David Warsofsky have been assigned to Providence and Mike Moore will be placed on waivers for the purpose of assignment to Providence. The cuts put the Bruins' roster at 28.

The Bruins can move on from Nathan Horton and let him enjoy playing under the radar for the Columbus Blue Jackets because, after one exhibition game at least, his replacement in Boston, Jarome Iginla, fit perfectly on the team’s top line along with David Krejci and Milan Lucic.

After Horton’s surprise departure from Boston during the summer as a free agent, Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli signed Iginla in hopes the future Hall of Famer would have an impact in Boston.

During the first four days of training camp, the chemistry between Lucic, Krejci and Iginla was evident. It continued during the Bruins’ first preseason game against the Montreal Canadiens Monday night at Bell Centre.

Iginla scored a pair of goals as the Bruins defeated the Canadiens, 6-3, as Lucic added three assists and Krejci contributed a goal.

VERY SPECIAL: Boston’s power play, which has struggled the last few seasons, was tremendous against Montreal. Sure, it’s only a preseason game, but Boston went 4-for-6 on the PP and showed quick puck movement and quality goals. The top unit Monday night of Iginla, Lucic, Krejci, Carl Soderberg and Torey Krug was outstanding.

KRUG IMPRESSIVE: The phenom rookie defenseman doesn’t want to be a flash in the pan, and by the way he played in the first preseason game, that won’t be the case. He provided three assists to help Boston to victory. He burst onto the scene for the Bruins last spring during the Stanley Cup playoffs and made significant contributions to help Boston reach the finals. He entered camp in great shape and with one goal: to earn a roster spot. Krug, who has shown an ability to get his shot from the point through on a consistent basis, assisted on Iginla’s second goal of the night. Krug also quarterbacked the power play. So far this preseason, he’s been paired with veteran blueliner Adam McQuaid.

IN GOAL: The Bruins had goaltenders Chad Johnson and Malcolm Subban split net time against the Canadiens. Johnson started and played the first 30 minutes and allowed three goals. Subban made his NHL preseason debut and did not allow a goal in his 30 minutes of action. Early in the third period, however, Subban learned he’s no longer playing junior hockey. He mishandled the puck to the left of his net, then was penalized for playing the puck outside the trapezoid. Subban played against his older brother, Canadiens defenseman P.K. Subban, for the first time in their respective careers. Malcolm picked up the win with his 12-save performance, while P.K. scored a goal for Montreal.

BATTLING FOR A SPOT: There are two forward positions up for grabs in Boston’s lineup this season, and while the young homegrown prospects in camp are all in the mix, newcomer Nick Johnson made his presence known in the first preseason game, scoring a pair of goals. Johnson has 104 games of NHL experience with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Minnesota Wild and Phoenix Coyotes. Boston signed the 27-year-old forward as a free agent in July.

LINED UP: Here are the lines used against the Canadiens:

FORWARDS
Milan Lucic-David Krejci-Jarome Iginla
Matt Fraser-Carl Soderberg-Craig Cunningham
Anthony Camara-Ryan Spooner-Nick Johnson
Daniel Paille-Alex Fallstrom-Shawn Thornton

DEFENSE
Torey Krug-Adam McQuaid
Matt Bartkowski-Kevan Miller
Tommy Cross-Zach Trotman

GOALTENDERS
Chad Johnson
Malcolm Subban

UP NEXT: With the first of seven preseason games in the book, the Bruins travel to Baltimore on Tuesday and will face the Washington Capitals.

BOSTON -- While the Boston Bruins finalized a one-year, incentive-laden deal for veteran forward Jarome Iginla, Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli was also busy in other areas, too.

Since former Bruins goalie Anton Khudobin signed with the Carolina Hurricanes, Boston signed goaltender Chad Johnson to a one-year, one-way contract. Providence Bruins forward and enforcer Bobby Robins inked a two-year, two-way contract, while forward Nick Johnson signed a one-year, two-way deal and defenseman Mike Moore agreed to a two-way, one-year contract.

Chad Johnson's salary is worth an annual cap figure of $600,000. Robins' salary is worth $600,000 at the NHL level and $100,000 at the AHL level. Nick Johnson's contract is worth $600,000 at the NHL level and $200,000 at the AHL level. Moore's deal is $550,000 at the NHL level and $150,000 at the AHL level.