The Boston Bruins turned out to be everything they said that they hoped to be on opening night and moving forward.
The special teams were vastly improved, the defense was solid and structured, and the goaltending was elite as the B’s had just enough offense in a strong 3-1 win over the Washington Capitals at Capital One Arena on Wednesday night. It was an impressive start to the Marco Sturm era in Boston and it continued the good vibes from a strong, successful training camp that pretty clearly got this group ready for the regular season.
Here's to many more, indeed 👏 #BehindTheB pic.twitter.com/ajy4DdXfRV
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) October 9, 2025
“For the most they played exactly like what we worked on, they played exactly like how we wanted them to play,” said Sturm. “That makes me happy.”
It wasn’t all sunshine and roses, of course, as the Bruins were outshot 17-6 in the second period and it’s pretty obvious that the second line of Casey Mittelstadt, Viktor Arvidsson and Pavel Zacha is going to be a work in progress from an offensive threat standpoint. But the Bruins' penalty kill, ranked 24th in the league with a dreadful 76.3 percent kill rate last season, was a perfect 5-for-5 in killing off Capitals power plays, and was at their best at the top of the second period when the Bruins had a 5-on-3 advantage for nearly a minute.
Newcomers Sean Kuraly, Tanner Jeannot and Fraser Minten all logged over three minutes of shorthanded ice time, and the PK unit managed to keep Alex Ovechkin from even leveling a single shot on net during Washington’s extensive power play time.
“The penalty kill is a tricky part because we can’t teach and practice at home, so you almost have to do that during the games and you need to get a lot of reps,” said Sturm. “Preseason we didn’t have too many [penalties] and guys were in and out. We almost had too many [players] to practice it during the preseason.
“But they got it done and slowly they are getting it…special teams are those moments when you have to shine and get that momentum back. And that’s what happened.”
The power play didn’t have as many chances for the Black and Gold, but they made it count when they did with varied, creative zone entries, good movement after setting up in the offensive zone and ultimately the game-winner when David Pastrnak fed Elias Lindholm in the slot for a slick double-move score.
David Pastrnak to Elias Lindholm for the Bruins best power play goal in over a year pic.twitter.com/NmHot4uAwm
— Evan Marinofsky (@EvanMarinofsky) October 9, 2025
It was a far cry from the 29th-ranked Bruins PP last season that scored on a paltry 15 percent of their power play possessions, and it was further evidence that Bruins assistant coach and power play architect Steve Spott was one of the best acquisitions that Boston made to their NHL group last summer.
The goal-scoring play was actually a planned breakout that Spott and the Bruins PP performers actually rehearsed that morning prior to the game in Washington.
“It was a great effort. It wasn’t our best, but it was Game One and we grinded together,” said Pastrnak, who finished with a goal and three points along with six shot attempts in 18:18 of ice time. “I think defensively we played a really good game and any breakdowns [Jeremy Swayman] was there. Penalty killers outstanding.
“We obviously got a big goal off the [power play] breakout. We only had two [power plays] so we made the most of it. It was a great step one for the power play and now we’re gonna shift our focus to [Thursday’s home game against the Blackhawks]. It was a gritty win against a good team on the road.”
The one note of concern was that all of the offense was generated by Pastrnak, Lindholm and Morgan Geekie, with each of the three players scoring a goal, and Lindholm, in particular, enjoying a strong effort with physicality, faceoff dominance and gritty play away from the puck in screening the goalie on Pastrnak’s long-range score in the second period.
The Bruins will need more offensive production from their other three lines, and from the back end, if they hope to have sustainable offense over the course of 82 games, but they didn’t need it in Game No. 1.
Beyond the power play and penalty kill excellence, it was good, old-fashioned structured defense that kept nearly everything to the perimeter when the Capitals tried to generate offense. Washington outshot the Bruins by a 35-21 margin, and they did get a third-period goal on a rare Tom Wilson roofed shot from the high slot when the Capitals were able to puncture the interior of Boston’s defense.
But otherwise it was structured defense and it was goaltender Swayman making a statement that it’s a new year for him with 34 overall saves in an impressive performance to open the season. Boston planned on stout defense and elite goaltending being the formula for success on most nights this season, and that is exactly what happened against a quality Washington team on opening night.
“It was important for our group to take the momentum we had in training camp and just continue it,” said Swayman. “We stuck together tonight and that’s a great sign for the rest of our season.
“I think we just have to stay consistent and know that things are going to get better. We have things to get better at and that’s good. It’s something to identify and grow from, and just keep building. And we have a lot of games to do that.”
The Bruins do have a lot of games with 12 more games in 21 days remaining during the month of October in a busy start to the regular season, and the good news is that it looks like they are equipped to get off to a much better start this season based on the elevated play in so many areas of the team on opening night.