Don’t look now, but the Boston Bruins are looking rock solid entering next week’s regular season.
Nobody is mapping out any big Duck Boat parades, of course, and a wild card playoff spot remains the most realistic high-end hope for this regular season with a retooled roster and a lot of players that will need to stay healthy and live up to expectations.
But things appear to be coming together for the Black and Gold as they close out their exhibition schedule with a chance to under-promise and overdeliver on this upcoming campaign, an ideal situation for a team coming off rock bottom.
The Bruins wrapped up a 4-1 preseason win over the New York Rangers at TD Garden on Saturday afternoon that included gnarly physicality, sufficient offense, and a top-of-his-game Jeremy Swayman that stood tall in the second period when the Bruins were outshot by a 13-2 margin.
The Bruins finished off the preseason with a 4-1-1 record and looked like a well-coached, cohesive unit with enough talent to win on Saturday afternoon with close to their entire lineup in place for the game. They also look like a team that is going to be max effort every game and won’t allow things to spiral out of control, a couple of traits that were not in place for last season’s underachieving group.
The best news is that the opening 20 minutes looked pretty close to exactly how Sturm wants the Bruins to play this season, and the players continue to absorb the new systems and mindset while also seeing the results on the scoreboard.
“I think we played a really good first period. The second period, they outplayed us but we found a way to win the game, which is important…especially at home. I think it was a successful end to the preseason, but there are still some things that we can work on,” said Pavel Zacha, who feels like he is building chemistry with Casey Mittelstadt and Viktor Arvidsson as a second line that will need to kick in with their share of offense. “We’ve had a couple practices together already, and especially in the offensive zone we won battles and we know where each other are [going to be] because we’ve already had practices together.”
Beyond boasting adequate scoring and what looks like improved special teams with some new coaching tactics and some brand-new personnel on the PK, the Bruins are showing the kind of grit and toughness that was absent last season when the going started getting tough. Instead, there was Mark Kastelic stepping up and battling Matt Rempe toward the end of the game amidst an abrasive fourth line performance, and Tanner Jeannot announcing his new B’s presence with some thunderous hits and heavy overall play.
Nice hit by Jeannot on the dump in pic.twitter.com/yPpxRTA73D
— Mr. Tenkrat (@PeterTenkrat) October 4, 2025
“It’s definitely great to end the preseason with a win. I thought it was a pretty good preseason overall,” said Kastelic. “We made a lot of changes from last year’s team and I think the overall takeaway [from the preseason] is that we’ve kept getting better from Day One to now.”
Jeannot and Mikey Eyssimont looked like the perfect hardnosed veteran bookends for Fraser Minten in the middle as it all but appears the rookie is going to be the third line center to start the season. Add all of that to a healthy Bruins back end and Swayman looking primed and ready to make everybody forget last season’s struggles, and it’s the kind of combination that’s going to win their share of hockey games this season.
The Bruins were outshot 31-16 and outshot 13-2 in the second period, but Swayman was there showing he’s ready to be that kind of dependable goaltender this coming season.
“It feels good to get training camp under our feet,” said Swayman. “I think our group is in a good spot to get started next week. We have a great system that Marco [Sturm] and the coaches have put together for us, and I just think we have to do it the right way with our speed, our physicality and our attention to detail.”
This preseason showing certainly should be assuaging the concerns that many hockey fans had after last season’s dumpster fire of a season and distancing this group from last season’s disappointment. The Bruins trumpeted this season as a new era for the Black and Gold under a brand new head coach, and it 100 percent has felt that way now that an encouraging, noise-free preseason has come to a close.
ONE-TIMERS
• If there is one rookie that looks like he’s already wrapped up an NHL spot, it is 22-year-old Fraser Minten. The young forward, that arrived with the Bruins via trade with the Toronto Maple Leafs for Brandon Carlo last spring, has been strong and consistent since serving as one of the leaders at Bruins rookie camp, and continues to look like a very strong third line center option with his two-way game and the offensive game that’s developing as his confidence grows at the NHL level.
“I like this kid,” Sturm said. “He came in ready to go. He played like a man. He didn’t complain about the rookie tournament. He just did his job on and off the ice.
“He’s the one guy who surprised me. He’s very reliable for me, how he is off the ice. He’s more like a man already than a little kid or teenager, a kid who just comes into the league. I’m really impressed with that.”
Minten continued his strong training camp with an assist on Boston’s first goal in Saturday’s preseason win over the Rangers when he spotted Nikita Zadorov crashing to the net, and then fed him a perfect pass from the goal line in a well-executed offensive play.
A great feed from Fraser Minten to set up Nikita Zadorov.
— Conor Ryan (@ConorRyan_93) October 4, 2025
1-0 Bruins.
pic.twitter.com/roSZazBFUz
• The Bruins continue to go back and forth with Pavel Zacha, toggling him between the wing and center during the preseason, with it still largely undecided which way they will go for the regular season. Zacha gives the Bruins good offensive production and a strong defensive mindset while working the pivot, but he also isn’t a big puck transporter in the way that others can be while working in the middle.
“I have to find a solution pretty soon here to find the right spot,” said Sturm. “Because I want him to get used to a line. It’s so important. But for me, there’s just no other way so far.”
It feels like the Bruins are leaning toward Zacha playing the wing along with Viktor Arvidsson with Casey Mittelstadt working at the center position as a move offensive-minded pivot option, and that would clear the way for Fraser Minten to be the third line center in more of a checking-type role. That was how things looked in Saturday’s final preseason dress rehearsal with Minten centering a third line that had Tanner Jeannot and Mikey Eyssimont on the wings and featured both of those veteran players sticking up for their young teammate when other teams tried to take runs at him.
“That’s why I wasn’t in a hurry to change anything,” said Sturm after Saturday’s preseason win. “These guys need some reps too to get more comfortable with each other. Today was much better than the game the other day, so I’m hoping they are going to continue like that if they stay together and they’re going to give us some scoring threat aside from the big line.”
• The Bruins announced a round of Sunday cuts with Matej Blumel, Alex Steeves, Michael DiPietro and Jonathan Aspirot all placed on waivers to be assigned in Providence, which suggests that Matt Poitras has also made the cut for the NHL roster after a strong training camp. Blumel is the only mild surprise amongst the names, but it's not going to surprise anybody if he logs serious NHL time this season for a roster that is probably going to need more offense.
