Game puck in hand, Bruins head coach Marco Sturm left Washington’s Capital One Arena one happy coach late Wednesday night.
His Bruins not only upset the Capitals on Opening Night, but they did it almost the exact way that Sturm envisioned it when he put the Bruins through their paces in training camp. Their defense was tight when it needed to be, the penalty kill was impenetrable and finished a perfect 5-for-5, and the Bruins got the timely scoring they have to have given their offensive limitations. Oh, and his goaltender was one Tom Wilson snipe short of a shutout.
But for the Bruins, sustainability will remain the biggest question involving this team moving forward. And it won’t take long for the next test on that front to come, as the Bruins will host the Blackhawks for the Black and Gold’s home opener and the second leg of a back-to-back Thursday night.
The Blackhawks, the latest ‘tear it down and burn the entire building down’ rebuilder in the NHL, comes into play looking to bounce back after letting what felt like a winnable game for them against the defending Cup champion Panthers slip out of their hands on Tuesday night in Sunrise.
Here’s a look at five players to keep an eye on tonight at TD Garden…
Mikey Eyssimont
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 23: Michael Eyssimont #81 of the Boston Bruins shoots during the second period of a preseason game against the New York Rangers. (Ishika Samant/Getty Images)
On the surface, it was a rather pedestrian Bruins debut for third-line winger Mikey Eyssimont on Wednesday night. Out there for 10:55 of time on ice, Eyssimont recorded three shots on goal, and the most notable play involving him was when Tom Wilson absolutely rocked him with a heavy hit.
But Thursday night against the Blackhawks is a golden opportunity for Eyssimont to make a larger impact for the Black and Gold.
Believe it or not, Eyssimont actually finished tied for the team lead in shots in Wednesday’s win over the Caps, and had the third-most shot attempts among all Bruins by the night’s end. And the Bruins, who had five different segments of at least five minutes without a shot on goal (two of which were over nine minutes) on Wednesday night, are going to need and want to get more pucks on goal Thursday as the more fatigued team. This is where it’s also worth mentioning that the Blackhawks are a leaky product when it comes to allowing shots to land on their goal, especially at five-on-five play.
But even if it’s not with a shot-heavy approach, Eyssimont should have a chance to make a big impact on this game as a forechecking presence. Lining up as a right wing, Eyssimont should have plenty of opportunities to hammer the Blackhawks’ left-side defense corps, which currently features Matt Grzelcyk and Wyatt Kaiser, and with Alex Vlasic (lower body) expected to make his season debut on Thursday night. These are the kind of games where the Bruins want and expect Eyssimont to use his frame to make a difference.
In nine career games against Chicago, Eyssimont has zero goals and two assists, and 20 shots on goal. His 20 shots on goal against the Hawks are the most against any opponent he’s yet on to score on, too. So perhaps he’s due.
Mason Lohrei
WASHINGTON, DC – OCTOBER 02: Mason Lohrei #6 of the Boston Bruins looks on against the Washington Capitals at Capital One Arena. (Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
Skating on the left side of Boston’s top pairing, Mason Lohrei’s focus certainly appeared to be more on the defensive side of things on Wednesday night. But when it comes to Lohrei creating offense, there’s no denying that the Blackhawks are an undeniably softer landing spot for the 6-foot-4 blue liner.
Lohrei was also also a noticeably better player at home than the road a year ago, with two goals and 18 points and a minus-13 rating at TD Garden, compared to 15 points and a minus-30 rating in 39 road tilts.
The Madison, Wisc. native (the Blackhawks were the NHL team closest to Lohrei growing up) also comes into this game with two helpers in two career games against the Blackhawks.
Viktor Arvidsson
Sep 29, 2025; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Bruins left wing Viktor Arvidsson (71) in action during the first period against the Philadelphia Flyers at TD Garden. (Eric Canha-Imagn Images)
Sturm and the Bruins are committed to squeezing significant (and much needed) secondary scoring out of their current second line with Casey Mittelstadt in between Viktor Arvidsson and Pavel Zacha.
It’s not going to be perfect, and Sturm is going to wince at times when that line is out there in the defensive zone, but the line had its share of chances in Wednesday’s season-opening victory. Zacha had a fantastic look between the circles in the first period, and the second period came with a breakaway for the speedy Arvidsson that did not beat the Caps’ Logan Thompson. In fact, per NaturalStatTrick.com, the 32-year-old Arvidsson was one of just four Bruins to have multiple individual scoring chances on Wednesday.
But, again, this is a night where the Bruins will be able to engineer some advantageous matchups for this line, and this is where you’re hoping that the savvy veteran will be able to put himself in prime areas to score.
There’s also history on Arvidsson’s side here, as he comes into tonight with three goals and six points in his last seven games against the Blackhawks, and with 11 goals and 23 points in 36 career games against Chicago.
Frank Nazar
Oct 3, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Blackhawks center Frank Nazar (91) skates with the puck during the first period against the Minnesota Wild at United Center. (Talia Sprague-Imagn Images)
So much of the focus on the Blackhawks’ forward group naturally comes back to 2023 top pick Connor Bedard. But don’t sleep on Chicago’s other highly-touted center prospect and 2022 first-round pick Frank Nazar.
The 13th overall pick from 2022, Nazar finished strong a season ago, inked a big-money extension in Chicago, and then kicked off his 2025-26 campaign with a goal and an assist this past Tuesday against the Panthers.
Nazar is an excellent skater, and despite his 5-foot-10 frame, he has a knack for getting to high-danger areas of the rink. The Bruins were strong at denying those looks early in Wednesday’s head-to-head with the Capitals, but the Caps’ ability to get there improved as the game went on. The Bruins could have a similar challenge with Nazar’s line, as he flanked by Tyler Bertuzzi (an annoying presence there, as everyone here knows) on his right wing.
Teuvo Teravainen
Oct 7, 2025; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Blackhawks center Teuvo Teravainen (86) looks on after scoring against the Panthers during the second period at Amerant Bank Arena. (Sam Navarro-Imagn Images)
Beyond familiar to the Bruins from his time with the Hurricanes, ‘Turbo’ Teravainen returns to Boston and will look to continue to feast on the Bruins. Lined up against Boston 23 times in his NHL career, Teravainen enters play with eight goals and 21 points against the B’s.
Teravainen had a goal and an assist in Tuesday’s loss to Florida.