It is the most wonderful time of the year. The 2025-26 NHL season is underway, and it’s time for the Boston Bruins to play their first game. They open the season with a back-to-back, and their first game is in Washington to take on the Capitals. A daunting task for your first game, as the Capitals were the best regular-season team in the Eastern Conference during the 2024-25 season. There is plenty to watch for in this matchup.
Can the Top Line Pick Up Where They Left Off?
When it comes to the Bruins’ goal scoring, what comes beyond the first line will be something to watch for. Can those lines provide a jolt in the first game? That’ll be something to monitor as the Bruins take the ice for the first time under new head coach Marco Sturm.
Bruins lines entering tomorrow’s season opener:
Geekie – Lindholm – Pastrnak
Zacha – Mittelstadt – Arvidsson
Jeannot – Minten – Eyssimont
Khusnutdinov – Kuraly – Kastelic
Lohrei – McAvoy
Lindholm – Peeke
Zadorov – Jokiharju
Swayman
Korpisalo
— Conor Ryan (@ConorRyan_93) October 7, 2025
But the one thing that’ll be a good sign to see is the top line continuing where they left off. The Bruins’ top line of Morgan Geekie, Elias Lindholm, and David Pastrnak will be a line that carries the bulk of the goal scoring. The trio ended the season together and did a tremendous job building chemistry. Seeing them pick up where they left off will be huge.
David Pastrnak and Charlie McAvoy of the Boston Bruins (Brian Fluharty-USA TODAY Sports)
Per Natural Stat Trick, they spent 93 minutes together, and they controlled puck possession 56.85% of the time. The trio outscored the opposition 16-4 and controlled the expected goals share 64.29%. They began to click, and that’s what they envisioned when they signed Lindholm to play with Pastrnak.
The Capitals were one of the best teams during the 2024-25 season, and they present a good challenge for the Bruins. The top line clicking from the get-go will be massive entering the new season.
Can Special Teams Play Deliver?
The bar is low for the Bruins, but their special teams play can be better. Their power play was near the bottom of the league and had a 15.2% success rate. However, they are getting a healthy Charlie McAvoy and Hampus Lindholm back.
Related: Bruins Superlative Award Predictions for the 2025-26 Season
When it came to the power play offense, it was often predictable. Looking at the heat maps via Hockey Viz, the Bruins primarily force-fed Pastrnak the puck. Of course, you want him shooting, but teams will be expecting that. The Bruins will want to get more creative and find other ways to create offense with the man advantage. Can they use the bumper spot well? Who else is a scoring threat? They do have options.
The Bruins have the talent, especially with the shoot-first mentality of Morgan Geekie. There are enough weapons that special teams can help them win games, but it won’t be easy. During the 2024-25 season, the Capitals had the fifth-best penalty kill unit with an 82.5% success rate.
The Element of Toughness
There is one thing the Bruins are going to implement in their roster. They are a team that is built on toughness and being hard to play against. It seems like a sentiment they tried to implement during the 2024-25 season. Cam Neely had a quote that rings loudly about how this team wants to play.
“I think teams are going to circle playing against the Bruins and go, ‘Oh damn, we have to play against them tonight.’”
This sentiment comes from the additions they made this free agency period. The club added Tanner Jeannot, Sean Kuraly, and Michael Eyssimont to integrate more toughness into the lineup. It was a key target to bolster the bottom six, adding elements that they believe they’ve been missing.
“We needed more piss and vinegar at the bottom of our (forward) lineup and definitely targeted that in free agency last summer.”
Cam Neely: “We needed more piss and vinegar at the bottom of our (forward) lineup and definitely targeted that in free agency last summer”
— Joe Haggerty (@HackswithHaggs) October 6, 2025
Eyssimont is a pest to play against. He is a player who will use his speed to get after pucks on the forecheck and wear down the opposition. He is unafraid to finish his checks, as he threw over 100 hits. Kuraly is a player they are familiar with, but Jeannot was their biggest signing in terms of dollars.
If Jeannot can produce close to his 2021-22 season, where he scored 24 goals and 41 points, the Bruins’ bottom six is in much better shape. But he is a hard-working player and someone who isn’t afraid to go to the front of the net to create a greasy scoring chance. He can forecheck hard and also hits everything in sight. He has averaged over 200 hits over the last three seasons.
The way the Bruins’ roster is constructed, the bottom two lines are built on toughness and being hard to play against. Can they bring that physical element against what’s a physically tough Capitals team? We will see.
New Year, New Bruins
With a new head coach in place, the expectations are to develop and grow. Establishing an identity and playing the right way are things Sturm said in his press conference.
“No. I want to see us grow. I want my players to play the way we all want them to play and get that identity back.”
This game against the Capitals will be great to see what this Bruins team is made of and what identity they have set for themselves.
