After going through their worst year in almost 20 years last season, the Bruins will outright tell you that they are not in the style points business.
In fact, speaking with reporters on Monday, Bruins team president Cam Neely and general manager Don Sweeney openly acknowledged the limitations of their team. Winning was going to require the kind of grind and guts that was lost and found and lost again too many times a year ago. And though there’s another 81 games of grind ahead of the Bruins, there’s no complaining with the results of Wednesday’s season-opening, 3-1 victory down in Washington.
“It feels great,” Bruins head coach Marco Sturm said following his first win as an NHL head coach. “I’m exhausted, but it’s the moment I was waiting for and to grab a win on the road at a tough place like [Washington], it’s even better.
For the Bruins, it was a game that seemingly tested the team’s defensive commitment and their patience. The Bruins did their job to limit the Capitals in the opening 20, and had to survive what was a 17-shot barrage from the Capitals in the second period. But they did, again and again, and provided some tangible results and confirmation to the Bruins’ belief that Sturm’s training camp was one of the best they’ve run in recent years.
“And, on top of it, they played exactly how I want them to play,” Sturm offered postgame. “And that makes me happy.”
Here’s a look at the 985TheSportsHub.com 3 Stars of the game…
3rd Star: David Pastrnak
Oct 8, 2025; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Bruins right wing David Pastrnak (88) celebrates after scoring a goal against the Capitals. (Geoff Burke-Imagn Images)
It wouldn’t be Opening Night for the Bruins without David Pastrnak. Hell, it wouldn’t be the Boston Bruins without David Pastrnak for that matter.
Not only did Pastrnak score on Opening Night for the fourth straight season, but Pastrnak had a hand in all three Boston goals by the night’s end, with the primary helpers on the goals that followed his second-period strike.
With the three-point outing, Pastrnak is now tied with Johnny Bucyk for the second-most Opening Night points in franchise history, with 17. Only Ray Bourque (30) has been a more prolific night one scoring threat for Boston.
2nd Star: Elias Lindholm
WASHINGTON, DC – OCTOBER 08: Elias Lindholm #28 of the Bruins celebrates after scoring a goal against the Capitals during the third period at Capital One Arena. (Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
Year 1 in Boston did not go as planned for Elias Lindholm. Especially out of the gate. And though Lindholm finished strong (he looked like a totally different player after the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament), Lindholm spoke about his desires to flush last season down the toilet. The best way to do that? A strong start on Opening Night. And, boy, did Lindholm deliver on that front.
The obvious highlight of Lindholm’s night came with his game-winning goal, scored on the power play and with some beautiful poise to finish the play. But his night went far beyond the tally and his looks with Pastrnak and Geekie.
Deployed for 18:07 of time on ice, Lindholm finished this contest with a goal, an assist, three shots, and six hits. His six hits were the fourth-most he’s had in any game as an NHLer, and the most since a nine-hit outing against the Panthers last season. In addition to all of that, Lindholm also proved to be a menace at the faceoff circle, with wins in 13 of his 19 battles at the dot.
1st Star: Jeremy Swayman
WASHINGTON, DC – OCTOBER 08: Jeremy Swayman #1 of the Bruins looks on against the Washington Capitals during the second period at Capital One Arena. (Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
If the Bruins are going to be anything more than fodder for the true elites of the NHL, Jeremy Swayman is going to need to get back to being the All-Star and playoff ace he was for Boston during the 2023-24 season. Everybody knows this, including Swayman himself. But we also know that after a season like the one he had a year ago, the only way for people to truly believe in him being that guy again is for him to go out and, well, be that guy.
Night one is night one, and the Bruins are going to need about 50 more of these, but Wednesday was a near-perfect start in that regard.
Peppered for 35 shots, Swayman turned aside all but one in Wednesday’s victory, and at times looked downright unbeatable. The TNT broadcast even aired a clip of a mic’d up Alex Ovechkin saying that whenever he got the puck in a shooting lane, he did not have an angle to fire it on goal.
That’s the kind of stuff Bruins fans want to hear about their goaltender.