Nobody delivers a reality check like the Bruins captain.

There were some genuinely positive vibes coming out of the B’s 4-2 preseason win over the Washington Capitals on Tuesday, not just because they won the meaningless game, but because some of their young players – namely, Fabian Lysell, Gerogii Merkulov and Matt Poitras – contributed heavily to the win. Lysell scored a goal and drew two penalties, Merkulov drew a penalty and had a pretty assist on Justin Brazeau’s goal while Poitras’ play was similar to how he was in his best games last year, controlling the puck along the boards and making his patented spin moves to lose checkers.

But asked if it was encouraging that those young players played pretty well, Brad Marchand didn’t pump the brakes as much as he slammed down on the pedal with both feet.

“It’s encouraging, but ‘pretty well’ needs to be better,” said the ever-frank Marchand. “For those guys to make the team, you’ve got to look at it and push guys out that are on term and big deals and stuff like that. Pretty good is not going to cut it. If you’re happy with that, then you’ve got a long ways to go.

“It’s a good step, but they need to continue to grow and be better – not just making plays but being clean with the puck and not turning it over and stuff like that. Yeah, they’re showing well. They’re skilled players. But there’s a lot more to it than just making a couple of plays. To make it at this level consistently, you’ve got to steal somebody’s job. That’s the biggest thing. How can you raise the bar to take a job and push somebody out? That’s what they’ve got to get to. They played well. Definitely better than the first game, and they need to continue to grow and elevate. And I hope they can. We need young guys to push and continue to push the pace and allow guys to not get comfortable on this team. We need the young bodies to come in and help the team. And that’s what great systems do, to continually build internally. Hopefully those guys can continue to push and be better. But again, you can’t be happy with one game or a couple of plays. You’ve got to do it not just through camp but through the entire season. So they’ve got a long way to go.”

Marchand, of course, was in their shoes once upon a time. It didn’t matter that he was better than a point-per-game player in junior hockey or that he produced at the AHL level as well. He needed to find a way into the NHL, which is not always a given for a 5-foot-9 player, not matter how offensively gifted he is.

So Marchand figured penalty killing could be one way to get noticed and, teamed with Patrice Bergeron, he became very, very good at it, to the point that he’s now the franchise leader in shorthanded goals.

After Tuesday’s game, coach Jim Montgomery said he’s looking for penalty killers. He gave Poitras and Justin Brazeau a shot at it and they did reasonably well. How well a young player does in a role like that, no matter how glamorous it may or may not be – could be the difference between a player making the team or not.

That’s the way Marchand looked at it some 14 years ago.

“I did, but it was not something that I got right away. I had to earn it in practice. Originally, they wanted me to be a fourth line energy guy and then what you learn is you’re given opportunities in practice. You’re not just out there to take reps. You’re out there to take spot and grow your icetime,” said Marchand, a full participant in practice on Wednesday for the first time after three offseason surgeries. “It happened (for him). I was put on the PK because I had a couple of good practices on it and they tried me and I ended up staying. That’s what you need to understand. Just because you’re not getting the role that you want or the icetime, it doesn’t mean you can’t get there. You just have to find a way to earn it. Depending on the organization, it comes a lot easier. When you’re part of really good teams, it’s a lot harder because the team is established and it’s a lot older and we’re deep. So very few guys come in and get power play time or PK time or top-two line icetime. You’ve got to find ways to earn it and be noticed in a different manner. And then eventually, the way it usually happens, someone gets hurt, then you get an opportunity and you’ve got to seize it. There’s a lot of rebuilding teams in the league where you see a lot of young guys come in and play 20 minutes a night and power play and penalty kill. We’re not built like that. If you guys want to come in and play, well, you’ve got to earn it. That usually starts in practice.”

Lysell and possibly Poitras could be vying to win the second line right wing job on the Marchand-Charlie Coyle line. Skating on that line on Wednesday was Morgan Geekie, a 26 year-old veteran who is looking to move up in the lineup after career highs in goals (17) and assists last year (22). He wants more.

Marchand appreciates Geekie’s hard-nosed, no-frills game.

“I love playing with Geeks.. He’s so great in so many different areas, the way he can hold on to pucks and make plays and shoots and he’s great in the corners,” said Marchand. “I think he really complements our line well. We haven’t had a ton of reps together so we’ll work on it. But I’ve always really liked his game after playing with him last year a bit. I really enjoyed that. I’m sure there’ll be big steps for him this year.”

Whether or not that was a direct challenge to those younger players, it would behoove the kids to take it that way.