Many curious onlookers have wondered where the goals are going to come from for the Boston Bruins when offensive production isn’t coming from the top line of David Pastrnak, Elias Lindholm and Morgan Geekie.
Obviously, those three carried the day in the opening game of the season, powering for all three strikes in the road win over the Washington Capitals. And then the Bruins arrived back in Boston at 2 am, knowing they were not going to have the same kind of skating legs for Thursday night’s back-to-back home opener against the Chicago Blackhawks at TD Garden.
It was an opportunity for the Bruins to show they can provide secondary offense and that’s exactly what happened in Boston’s 4-3 overtime win over the Blackhawks, which leaves the B’s an impressive 2-0-0 after their first two games of the season.
It wasn’t a clean game and the Bruins even had to be challenged a bit by Marco Sturm after a second period where the game was right there to be taken by either side.
“I don’t know about the past. I don’t know what was going on in the room last year or two years…whatever it was,” said Sturm. “I felt it a little bit in the second period and I had to mention it at intermission. It’s just a mindset and we’ve got to bring it back. Those kinds of wins are important, our body language is important…having life on the bench…feeding off the crowd. That’s what I remember about the Boston Bruins and that’s what we need back.”
“We said it in the room and Big Zee said it right away in the room, these are the kinds of games that you’ve got to win if you want to build something,” said Sturm, referencing Zdeno Chara as part of his advisory group in his new management role. “It’s not always [going to be] pretty but the guys got the job done. It was not easy to play a game like last night, come home at 2 am … and mentally that’s a lot. It’s the home opener and we all wanted to do well, and we all wanted to win. It’s not the flow we wanted it to be and we got into a bit of a grinding game. And those are the games you have to win. Those games bring you together as a team.”
But at the end of the day, the Bruins got goals from three of their four forward lines, including the game-winning overtime score from 21-year-old third line center Fraser Minten, who has been impressive in his role since all the way back at rookie camp. Minten showed the exact right amount of confidence taking the shot on a 2-on-1 with Morgan Geekie, where a forced pass would have been playing into Chicago’s hands.
Instead, Minten held onto the puck, dusted it and then ripped the game-winner under the bar before setting Bruins fans off into a frenzy.
FRASER SAYS: DOWN GOES CHICAGO 🥊 pic.twitter.com/eFOqTbsnQu
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) October 10, 2025
Casey Mittelstadt scored one for the second line to open things up in the first period, and Tanner Jeannot picked up a rebound strike in the second period after Mikey Eyssimont’s impressive stickhandling earned him a shot from the slot area that set up the loose puck rebound for the power forward.
Secondary scoring is going to be required if the Bruins are going to be anything close to a playoff team and it was on display on the second night of a back-to-back when Boston’s big guns perhaps didn’t have their best skating legs.
“That was huge. I think [the third line] was playing really well tonight,” said Lindholm. “They’re a hard-working line that likes to get the puck deep and get to work, so they deserved to get a couple.
“A game like this, where we were obviously coming home late [from Washington DC] and you don’t know what kind of sleep you are going to get at home, you are going to need everyone. So it was good to see a bunch of guys get on the board.”
Though Elias Lindholm was scoring his second goal in as many games by slamming home a puck on the doorstep after a net-front pass from Pavel Zacha on the power play, a man advantage that is producing to start this season for the Black and Gold. Boston took advantage of a 5-on-3 power play for a full two minutes and continues to generate momentum from their special teams’ opportunities.
It was also again a good news and bad news kind of games for the B’s, though, as Hampus Lindholm left with a lower-body injury just six shifts into Thursday’s home tilt against Chicago. Marco Sturm said postgame that it was unrelated to Lindholm’s kneecap issues last season, but there’s got to be some level of concern that one of Boston’s workhorse defensemen is already missing time.
“Just a minor injury. Not related to his old injury,” said Sturm. “We just wanted to make sure he is going to be okay. He’s going to be tested tomorrow.”
And some of the optimism should be tempered by the fact that it was the lowly Blackhawks that the Bruins were fighting with for two points at the home opener.
But there is no denying that the Boston Bruins are proving a lot of haters wrong for thinking that this hockey team was going to be bottom of the barrel in the NHL again this season. The defense has been pretty solid, the goaltending has been excellent when its needed to be and they are getting enough offense through the first few games of the season, buoyed by quality special teams play.
“I’m not really surprised about my team because I think since Day One they’ve all been dialed in,” said Sturm. “They work extremely hard and today again they gave it all. Good for them to get rewarded.”
It’s only two games into the regular season for the Black and Gold, but all of the underlying signs continue to point toward a hockey club that’s going to surprise a lot of people and continually outpace people’s expectations for them this season.