For someone who has to know they have no chance of making the team this year, Alexander Khokhlachev sure is doing everything he can to make a good impression. His latest positive stride came in Tuesday’s annual black and white scrimmage, as the Russian 18-year-old had a pair of goals in the black team’s 4-1 victory. 

The Bruins weren’t thrilled with Khokhlachev’s conditioning when he showed up for development camp in July, and they anticipated he would be in better shape when he returned for rookie camp. Since then, they’ve liked what they’ve seen from their second-round pick, and Khokhlachev (or “Koko”) says he feels better physically. 

Khokhlachev had to feel even better when he took a pass from Dennis Seidenberg in the first period and beat Tuukka Rask with a wrist shot to open the game’s scoring. He later added another in the third period to cap a solid performance. 

The youngster has only one OHL year under his belt, but his 34 goals as a rookie showed that he should dominate on the scoring sheet for as long as he's there. As long as he's in the Bruins' camp, he'll try to do more of the same. 

“Any day they can send me home, so every day I’m just going to the ice or workouts and working really hard,” Khokhlachev, who takes lessons for his English, said after the game. “It’s my chance [to impress], so I’m just working really hard.”

Khokhlachev will not play in Wednesday’s preseason opener against the Senators.

BARTKOWSKI IS MAKING A CASE TO START THE SEASON IN BOSTON

One of the most interesting position battles in camp (they’re actually all interesting given how few there are this season) is the spot of the seventh defenseman. While it may have been assumed entering training camp that the job would be Steven Kampfer’s, his primary competition sure is making it, well, a competition. 

Matt Bartkowski, who was the last player cut from camp last year and was on the Bruins’ season-opening Europe trip a year ago, was one of the standout performers in Tuesday’s scrimmage. The Pennsylvania native had some nice rushes in for the black team, set up a goal in the third period and took Jared Knight’s helmet off with one of the biggest hits of the night. 

Kampfer obviously has the advantage of more NHL experience, but both saw time with Boston last season (Kampfer played 38 games to Bartkowski’s six). Both were playing their first professional seasons coming out of college last season, and though Bartkowski is a little bigger and may be a better hitter, Kampfer is a right-handed shot with excellent speed. Luckily for the Bruins, they have over two more weeks to weigh the pros and cons of each. 

SCRIMMAGE OR NOT, HAMILTON BLOCKS SHOTS

Dougie Hamilton has the smarts and the frame that have many projecting him to be a top-pairing defenseman one day in Boston. On Tuesday, he showed that like many of the Bruins’ current defenseman, he isn’t afraid to sacrifice his body. 

Hamilton, playing on the white team, was knocked down by a puck as he went to block a shot in front of Tuukka Rask’s net. He was slow to get up, but once he was back on his feet, he tried to block another before getting off the ice.  

"We've got some pretty high-character guys,” assistant coach Geoff Ward said after the game. “We've seen the battling that they've put up with in practice. I haven't seen anybody in our group that's going to stay down on something like that.

“That's one of the things that's kind of in the identity of our hockey club. It's good that you see a guy like that want to get up and keep playing."

That players were sacrificing their bodies trying to block shots was just one of the many examples of the high intensity with which the scrimmage was played. Even NHL veterans with spots clearly sewn up ramped it up, as Seidenberg stepped in front of the net to play a little Michael Ryder-esque goalie with Anton Khudobin caught out of the net.

CLARK RAISES THE BAR FOR SEGUIN’S TOUGHNESS

There are a lot of parts of Tyler Seguin’s game that are off the charts. He’s one of the most talented players in the league because of them. His speed, shot and ability to humiliate defensemen are nothing short of outstanding, and they’re why the Bruins were so eager to grab him second overall in the 2010 draft. 

Yet there are parts that were clearly lacking in Seguin’s rookie season. He was often timid, and had a tendency to get rid of the puck as soon as he got it. Most glaringly, he avoided the corners and would slow down when it looked like he might be first to the puck with someone chasing. 

Still just 19 years of age, Seguin has admitted that he needs to be more willing when it comes to play in the corners. On Tuesday, he showed that by heading into the corner to retrieve a puck. Once he got there, he was hit hard by veteran Chris Clark. The two battled in the corner for the puck, with Seguin trying to return the physicality with some shoves before he lost his balance and fell to the ice.

It wasn’t a pretty moment for the youngster, as he was manhandled to the point of him being visibly upset following the play, but it’s certainly something the Bruins should take as a positive. Clark, who’s trying to earn himself a spot, ramped up the intensity in a meaningless scrimmage to prepare Seguin for how things he will be once he starts spending more time in the corners. 

As for Clark, he's displayed a good amount of grit, and it looks like he has a good chance of seriously pushing for a roster spot. The former Capitals captain has spent parts of the last two seasons dealing with injuries.

THE BRUINS GOT BIT BY THE MILD INJURY BUG

The Bruins already had one of their top six defensemen considered day-to-day due to injury, and it’s why captain Zdeno Chara (left leg contusion) did not play in the scrimmage. By the end of the first period Tuesday, Joe Corvo could be added to the list of Bruins’ blueliners dealing with minor ailments.

Corvo left the game early on with what the team said after the game was a mild lower-body injury. The plan in the preseason is to be cautious when in doubt, and given that Corvo could be seen walking without a limp following the game, there’s likely no reason to worry about the 34-year-old missing much time.

Both Corvo and Chara were left off the team’s roster for Wednesday’s game.