With their final training camp practice in the books on Friday, the B’s play their final preseason game on Saturday in Washington with a pressing question beyond the obvious one of when/if Jeremy Swayman gets signed.

The B’s look like a team that will be able to defend and close out games when they have a lead. But on the flip side, you can be forgiven if you’ve got some concerns about scoring after Thursday’s no-show in Quebec City, where they managed just 12 shots on net in a 4-1 loss to Kings.

Sure, you can say that the team looked bored in the fifth of six meaningless games and it would be a fair assessment. But even on a night in which they looked like they were close to firing on all cylinders on Tuesday against the Flyers, when they outshot the Philadelphia 34-14, they still only managed a pair of goals before they scored two empty netters for the 4-1 win.

The B’s had to let both Jake DeBrusk and Danton Heinen walk to Vancouver and that’s 36 goals from the wing out the door that they haven’t really replaced. Center Elias Lindholm – signed to a seven-year, $54.25 million – will pick up some of the goal scoring slack, but they will need more from players who’ve yet to prove they’re reliable scorers at this level, players like Morgan Geekie, Justin Brazeau and Trent Frederic. While they may be capable, none of those players has had a 20-goal season in the NHL yet.

Part of the mandate from management, which gave coach Jim Montgomery a good two-way centerman in Lindholm and a big body in Nikita Zadorov, is to grind out those 2-1 games. Still, you have to score twice to win them.

While coaches are worrywarts by nature, and Montgomery is no different, he’s confident his team will be able to manufacture enough scoring. He believes his defense corps will lead the way in offense creation.

“I think you’re always concerned. Two years ago I was concerned about scoring (they finished second in the league). Last year I was concerned about scoring (13th),” said Montgomery on Friday. “I think our D corps gives us the ability to spend more time in the offensive zone this year. If you spend more time in the offensive zone, you look at teams that spend time there, they end up being teams that score a lot. And that’s an area we focused on. Spend less time in the D, spend more time in the O zone. I can’t say that I’m worried about it.”

There is the reasonable expectation that Mason Lorhei, who right now is skating in the top four with Brandon Carlo, will continue to flourish and grow with the offensive skill he clearly has.

And the newcomer to the mix, Zadorov, who has shown he’s got a flair for more than just burying his opponents with his 6-foot-6 frame. After a rough first game in New York, he’s had two pretty primary assists, one that gave Brazeau a redirect goal from the top of the crease and another that sprung Patrick Brown for a partial break-in.

Though the 29-year-old Zadorov’s going into his 11th NHL season, Montgomery believes he’s got a way to go before hitting his ceiling.

“His skill set’s really good and his brain’s really good. You combine those two things with his competitive fire, you’re going to get more,” said Montgomery. “We think there’s a lot more offense in him than he’s shown in his career so far. We also think there’s a lot more defense in him. We’re hoping we can help him get to those levels.”

PK will be OK

With the departure of DeBrusk and Heinen, Montgomery has been looking for penalty killers, and he thinks he’s found good candidates.

“There’s a lot of guys who’ve done a good job. (Frederic) has vastly improved on the PK, Brazeau has done a good job. We haven’t seen enough of (Max) Jones but he did a good job (Thursday) night. And (Mark) Kastelic has come in and added more depth,” said Montgomery. “We do know that (Johnny) Beecher, (Charlie) Coyle, (Brad) Marchand, (Elias) Lindholm and (Pavel) Zacha can do the job. It’s who’s going to be the other guys to solidify. And if they do solidify us, do we draw back some ice time from, say, Marchand or Lindholm, just to keep them fresher for offense?”

Marchand, who returned to practice on Friday after being out since leaving Tuesday’s game with an illness, is the B’s all-time shorthanded goal scorer with 36. But Montgomery said he’ll look to lighten the 36-year-old captain’s load when he can.

“It’s something you just keep an open dialogue on. If it’s crunch time and we need you, you’re going to go penalty kill. If it’s crunch time and we need you, you’re going to double shift. But until then, there’s going to be areas where I’ll look to draw back some minutes,” said Montgomery. “It’s not an age thing, the guy’s in great shape, but you just don’t want to overtax someone when you don’t have to. That’s when injuries occur.”

Loose pucks

While Jones missed much of camp with a groin/hip injury, Montgomery liked what he saw from him in the otherwise forgettable loss in Quebec City.

“He hits hard. Bruins fans are going to like him,” said Montgomery. … Matt Poitras remained out with an undisclosed injury. Though he’s officially termed “day-to-day,” Montgomery doesn’t know if Poitras will be ready for the season opener on Tuesday in Florida. … The B’s placed Vinni Lettieri, Jordan Oesterle and Michael DiPietro on waivers for the purpose of assignment to Providence. … Goalie Jiri Patera, whom the B’s claimed off waivers from Vancouver, participated in his first practice on Friday. Montgomery said he doubts he’ll see any game action in Saturday’s preseason finale in Washington. … Charlie McAvoy (maintenance) did not practice Friday.