WASHINGTON, D.C. — The 2025-26 Bruins will not be the most aesthetically pleasing hockey team we’ve ever seen. But if their brand can produce the kind of results we saw in the season opener in at Capital One Arena, they will no doubt be forgiven.
The B’s frustrated the Washington Capitals in the neutral zone, got good goaltending, won the special teams battle and walked out with the 3-1 victory. David Pastrnak had a goal and two assists and Jeremy Swayman made 34 saves for the win.
Marco Sturm, tie askew and a tad hoarse after the game, basked in his first victory as an NHL head coach.
“It feels great. I’m exhausted though,” said Sturm with his trademark wide grin. “It’s the moment I was waiting for and to grab a win on the road, in a tough place like here is even better. And, on top of it, for the most part they played exactly what we worked on, they played exactly how I wanted them to play. And that makes me happy.”
The B’s killed off all five minor penalties they took, including two that led to a 55-second 5-on-3. On the flipside, Elias Lindholm scored the game-winner at 7:41 of the third period — just 38 seconds after the Caps tied it up — on one of the two power plays the B’s got.
To be successful, the B’s big guns are going to have to produce and they did, accounting for all the scoring, with Pastrnak having a hand in all three goals.
“That’s him, right? That’s why he makes the big bucks,” said Sturm.
Another player who has to perform to his capabilities is Swayman, and he did just that. He was particularly taxed in the second period, when he faced and stopped all 18 shots he saw. He also survived some hairy moments late with the Caps’ goalie pulled for an extra skater while the B’s nursed a one-goal lead. Swayman looks at his team as a work in progress.
“I think we just have to stay consistent and know that things are going to get better. Right now, we have things to work on. That’s good. There’s something to identify and grow from and just keep building. We have a lot of games to do that,” said Swayman.
The B’s took a 1-0 lead into the third period, but Tom Wilson tied the game 7:03 of the third when he was left alone in the slot and he was able to finally beat Swayman.
The B’s, however, struck right back. After John Carlson went to the box for holding Morgan Geekie, the B’s cashed in on the power play. Pastrnak, who had the earlier goal, hit Elias Lindholm slashing through the slot. Lindholm went to his backhand and beat goalie Logan Thompson for the 2-1 lead.
Finally, after teetering on the edge of disaster with the puck bouncing around the net, Pastrnak fed Morgan Geekie for the empty netter to seal it with 58 seconds left.
The Bruins looked very much as they were advertised in the first period. It was not a scintillating brand of hockey as they clogged up the neutral zone with their 1-2-2 defensive alignment, but they did it well in the scoreless opening 20 minutes.
One of Sturm’s focuses in training camp was the penalty kill – and it’s a good thing. The B’s took three minor penalties in the first period, the last of which (a Henri Jokiharju crosscheck) bled over into the second period.
“Tonight we had too many to practice on the PK but they got it done. And I think slowly they get it,” said Sturm.
The Caps held an 8-4 shots-on-goal advantage but the B’s, who held a 16-13 total shot lead, had their chances, too. On their lone power play, Geekie took a cross-ice pass from Pastrnak and sailed it over the crossbar.
One of the best scoring chances for the Caps was actually when Hampus Lindholm whiffed on the puck at the top of his crease and directed back at the net, but Swayman was locked in enough to smother the dangerous puck.
The B’s lived far too dangerously at the start of the second period. With 55 seconds still left on Jokiharju’s penalty, Charlie McAvoy tripped Alex Ovechkin, giving the Caps a sizable 5-on-3.
The PK not only remained strong but it was also fortunate as the Caps just missed connecting on a couple of backdoor plays.
Both penalties were successfully killed off but the Caps carried the momentum to the first TV timeout. Swayman was sharp, at one point turning away a dangerous partial break from Nic Dowd.
Eventually, the B’s pushed back. Pavel Zacha sprung Viktor Arvidsson for a clean breakaway but Thompson closed up the five-hole in time.
The game picked up in action, and physicality. Wilson appeared to be hunting Mason Lohrei most of the night. One time after he blasted the Bruin defenseman, Mark Kastelic made a beeline for Wilson and locked up with him for a brief moment, but the Capital winger declined the offer.
The ice was finally broken by the B’s at 12:07 and, true to the blueprint, it was a greasy goal. Pastrnak took a Nikita Zadorov feed, circled out high in the zone and fired a shot that was deflected by a Cap out high. With Elias Lindholm battling at the top of the crease, the puck eluded Thompson and dropped in behind for the 1-0 Bruin lead.
“I saw Lindy at net-front and any time you ahve a guy at net-front like that, and you have a line to shoot…Honestly I was just shooting to his stick for him to tip it and it went in. The most credit to him for being at the net-front,” said Pastrnak.
The top line had another goo scoring chance when Pastrnak fed Geekie for a backdoor play but Geekie heeled his one-time attempt.
While the B’s won the period on the scoreboard, the Caps spent too much time in the B’s zone, outshooting the B’s 18-6 in the period.
But when challenged in the second period with a goal against that could have been deflating, the showed the kind of mettle that was non-existent last year to answer right back. And it earned them the win.
“It was a great team effort,” said Pastrnak. “It wasn’t our best, obviously. We’ve got much better. But it’s Game One. We have to grind together. Defensively, I think we played a really good game. Any breakdowns, Sway was there. He had our back. He was unbelievable today. Penalty killers, outstanding. A great win.”
Originally Published: October 8, 2025 at 10:20 PM EDT