Bruins Drop Jackets After Olympic Break (2/26/26)

It was a fun two weeks if you were an American as the United States took home the gold medal in hockey. Jack Hughes scored the OT game winner against Canada and Team USA has come home heroes. Two of them include Charlie McAvoy and Jeremy Swayman. The Boston Bruins returned from Olympic break by stopping one of the hottest teams in hockey. The Columbus Blue Jackets had won 7 straight games and 11 out of 12 coming into this one and the Bruins took it to them. Kirill Marchenko struck first for Columbus with a goal against Joonas Korpisalo just over four minutes into the game. Not to worry, Viktor Arvidsson tied it up with just four minutes left in the first. Korpisalo was briefly knocked out of the game and third string goalie Michael DiPietro had to come in during the second period. While he was in, Morgan Geekie scored on the power play to put Boston on top. With Korpisalo back, Sean Kuraly scored in the third period to make it a two goal game but Adam Fantilli scored with 6:15 left. Korpisalo made some big stops and Arvidsson supplied the empty netter to give the Bruins a 4-2 win over Columbus at the TD Garden.

                                             Kelsey Obsession approves of the win

The Jackets almost struck first 30 seconds into the game when Damon Severson took a Zach Werenski shot against the boards and dished it to a wide open Mathieu Olivier but Joonas Korpisalo blocked the backhand shot attempt. The puck went to Fraser Minten on a breakaway but Severson caught up to knock the puck away. The Jackets did strike first 4:32 into the game when Adam Fantilli took the puck away in the Columbus zone and dished it to Mason Marchment. Somehow Marchment fired the puck past three Bruins onto the stick of Kirill Marchenko who scored on Korpisalo to put Columbus up 1-0. The Bruins best chance early on was 9 minutes into the period when Henri Jokiharju fired on net and Jackets goalie Elvis Merzlikins kicked it out to Viktor Arvidsson who's shot went wide. Back the other way, Korpisalo robbed Miles Wood then made a good stop on a Ivan Provorov one timer. During the first commercial break, the Bruins paid tribute to Charlie Coyle who was now with the Jackets. Welcome back Charlie.

                                                     The Mayor of Weymouth returns

Nearly halfway through the period the Bruins got the first power play when Marchenko was sent to the box for hooking. The Bruins did nothing on the power play then Columbus had a big chance with seven minutes remaining. Marchment drew in two Bruins then dished it to a wide open Fantilli but Korpisalo made a huge stop to keep it a one goal game. Then while retrieving the puck in the opposite end, Elvis fell down and the puck went right to Sean Kuraly who.....was denied by a diving Elvis. Mark Kastelic was also robbed but they kept the pressure on. The Bruins finally hit pay dirt with 4:09 remaining. Jonathan Aspirot passed the puck to Arvidsson. He simply fired it toward the net and it went off Isac Lundestrom's stick and in for Viktor's 15th of the season. Columbus got the next power play with 2:09 left in the period when Michael Eyssimont was bagged for holding. One minute later, Dimitri Voronkov was alone in front of the net but Korpisalo denied him big time. That was it for the power play and the period as the game was tied 1-1 going into the second.

                                                        Sometimes its better to be lucky

2 minutes into the period there was a battle against the boards that had Korpisalo bobbing his head around when Denton Mateychuk broke free and fired on net, saved by Joonas. Mason Lohrei had a chance in the slot 6 minutes into the period but was denied by Elvis. Things looked bleak when Wood accidentally speared Korpisalo with 13:47 left in the period which earned him a face wash from Nikita Zadorov. Wood was assessed an interference penalty but that called in Michael DiPietro into duty with Jeremy Swayman scratched.

                                                              Down goes Korpisalo

                                                      "Whataya think yer doin?" - Zadorov

                                     "Here I come to save the dayyyyyyyyyyy" - DiPietro

The Bruins avenged Korpisalo 41 seconds later when Elias Lindholm dished it to Geekie. Geekie lost it and passed it to David Pastrnak. Pastrnak passed it to Geekie for the one timer.......HE SCORESSSSSSSSS. Geekie's 33rd of the season on the power play puts the Bruins up by 1 and gives DiPietro the chance to earn his first win. The Jackets got the next big chance with 7:23 left in the period when Marchenko blew by Hampus Lindholm and passed to an open Fantilli, saved by DiPietro. A few minutes later Korpisalo returned and once again, if the Bruins lead held, DiPietro would get the win after saving two shots. With 3:22 left in the period Mateychuk's drive was saved by Korpisalo and the rebound went wide. Nothing happened after that and the Bruins went into the break leading 2-1.

                                                    Another Geekie goal

The third period began with the Bruins getting a bit lucky. Fantilli beat Korpisalo glove side just 1:40 into the period but the shot rang off the post. Werenski tried his luck but Joonas made another save. Just over four minutes into the period, Pastrnak dished to Marat Khusnutdinov but was stripped of the puck by Coyle. Six minutes in, Arvidsson's slapshot was saved by Elvis. It looked like the Bruins would put this away when Marchment was whistled for slashing but they did nothing on the power-play. The highlight being Eyssimont's shot going off the side of the net. Then the Bruins struck with 8:45 left. Tanner Jeannot collected the puck and Kuraly took off like a jackrabbit. He tried a slapshot from the point....HE SCORESSSSSS! Kuraly's fifth of the season put the Bruins up by two.

                                                            Things looked good here

The euphoria was shortlived as just over two minutes later, Werenski dished over to Marchment. Marchment found Fantilli at the point and he buried the slapper to cut the lead 3-2 with 6:15 left.

                                                "Damn it all to hell" - Korpisalo

A minute later Korpisalo came up big as Sean Monahan's shot was kicked wide but Werenski's slapper dropped Korpisalo to the ice. Joonas recovered and the Bruins got it out of the zone. With 1:47 left, Werenski's shot didn't get through but Monahan's blast was denied by Joonas. Werenski got another chance but Korpisalo made another save. With 1:15 left and the net empty, Pastrnak stole the puck and backhanded it down the ice.....no good! Bruins were called for icing to keep the play in their zone. With 37 seconds left, Casey Middlestadt kicked the puck over to Charlie McAvoy. McAvoy found Arvidsson streaking toward the net. Arvidsson's shot from just beyond the blue line went in the empty net. Viktor's 16th of the season put this one on ice, 4-2. Korpisalo made 36 saves but DiPietro gets the win for being the goalie on record.

                                                             Bruins win

Reaction:

That was a big win considering Jeremy Swayman sat this one out and the win actually went to DiPietro since he was in the net for the Geekie goal. The sad part was Korpisalo played very well all things considered. Speaking of Morgan, Geekie is just seven goals away from 40 which is unreal considering he was just supposed to be a stopgap forward two years ago. Arvidsson is having his best season in 3 years and who saw that coming? The Montreal Canadiens lost in overtime so the Bruins remain one point behind Buffalo for seventh place, 2 behind Montreal for third and 3 behind Detroit for second. The Tampa Bay Lightning lost but are still nine points ahead of Boston with a game in hand. First place seems out of reach but they can go on a hot streak and overtake Buffalo, Montreal and Detroit. They're four points ahead of Washington and 8 ahead of Florida as well. Ironically Toronto has the third worst record in the Eastern Conference but would be the second wild card out west. This is going to be a tight race so Swayman better be ready. The win improved the Bruins to 33-25 with 24 games left to play. The Bruins look to make it two in a row when they take on Trevor Zegras and the Philadelphia Flyers this Saturday afternoon. The game begins at 3:00 PM at Xfinity Mobile Arena.

Panthers Drop Bruins In Shootout (2/5/26)

That's going to leave a bad taste in the mouths of Boston Bruin fans as we head into the Olympic break. The Bruins had two games in Florida against the Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers but only snared two points out of four. After gagging against Tampa on Sunday, the Bruins rallied in this one against the Panthers. Eetu Luostarinen opened the scoring on Joonas Korpisalo in the first period but Michael Eyssimont scored twice to give the Bruins a 2-1 lead. The Panthers bumrushed the Bruins in the second period with three goals to take a 4-2 lead. Not so fast! Mark Kastelic and Casey Middlestadt both scored in the third period against Sergei Bobrovsky to tie the game. Overtime solved nothing and it was on to the shootout. Anton Lundell and Viktor Arvidsson both scored but Bob and Joonas stopped the next two shooters. Then old pal Brad Marchand found the back of the net, but Middlestadt didn't. The Panthers had won in the shootout 5-4 at Amerant Bank Arena.

                                                              Another shootout loss....

The Panthers wasted no time getting on the board as Sam Bennett scored just 1:24 into the game....but wait! Bruins coached Marco Sturm challenged that they were offsides and sure enough, the goal was overturned. A narrow escape for sure but not with just over four minutes into the period. Morgan Geekie completely whiffed on getting the puck out of the Bruins zone and Eetu Luostarinen pounced on it before scoring to put the Panthers on top.

                                                               Panthers strike first

The lead didn't last very long as just 7:18 into the game, Hampus Lindholm passed the puck up to Alex Steeves. Steeves fired it down the ice through the legs of Uvis Balinkis to Michael Eyssimont. Balinkis then fell down as Eyssimont scored on Sergei Bobrovsky to tie the game.

                                                            Eyssimont ties it

The Bruins had a chance to jump ahead with just over 9 minutes gone in the game when Andrew Peeke passed to an open Fraser Minten. Fraser's shot clanged off the post and out. Then the Panthers did what they do best, bait the Bruins into a penalty. Sandis Vilmanis checked Jonathan Aspirot in the head and naturally he retaliated sparking the bench to clear. When all was said and done, both men got penalties but the Bruins got a bench minor served by Eyssimont to put the Panthers on a power play. With 8 minutes left in the period, Carter Verhaeghe's slapper went off Joonas Korpisalo and a few seconds later, Andrew Peeke moved the puck out of the corner. Marat Khusnutdinov fired the puck down ice to Eyssimont just out of the box. Michael scored on the breakaway to give the Bruins the lead. With 5 minutes left in the period, Khusnutdinov walked in alone but was denied by Bob. Ten seconds later, Aaron Ekblad was called for interference to put the Bruins on the power play. Geekie totally blew a breakaway and Evan Rodrigues nearly tapped home a shorthanded goal. With 3 minutes left in the perod, Casey Middlestadt hit the post with a shot and a minute later, Sean Kuraly was denied as well. Then things got testy with 53 seconds left when Matthew Poitras tripped up Sam Bennett. Bennett retaliated and another brawl broke out. Tanner Jeannot and old pal AJ Greer dropped the gloves and all four pen were penalized. Then Nikita Zadorov took a foolish slashing penalty after the period to put Florida on the power play when play resumed. Still, it was 2-1 Boston going into the break.

                                                     Eyssimont strikes twice

Naturally the Panthers didn't wait around to tie the game when the second period began. Anton Lundell dished it to Matt Tkachuk. Matt passed it to Balinskis at the point who fired it past Korpisalo to tie the game. Worse yet, two minutes later Viktor Arvidsson was sent off for hooking. Naturally, Balinskis passed it over to Lundell. Lundell found Tkachuk in the front of the net and he banged it home to give Florida the lead. Two power play goals for the Panthers. Korpisalo had to rob Verhaeghe point blank seven minutes into the period to keep it a one goal game. With 7:35 remaining in the period, Eetu Luostarinen got bagged for interference to put the Bruins on the power play. Arvidsson had an open net but was pushed down before he could take the shot. Geekie had a chance to shoot into the scrum in front of the net but dished it to David Pastrnak who couldn't corral it. Peeke damn near tapped it in but was cross checked from behind by Niko Mikkola for another penalty. Once again the Panthers had a better chance shorthanded but Lundell was robbed by Korpisalo. Geekie, Pastrnak and Hampus Lindholm were all denied on the power play. Luostarinen slashed the stick of Eyssimont to put the Bruins on another power play but the Panthers finally got the last laugh. With 1:37 left both Eyssimont and Rodrigues were sent to the box for matching roughing penalties to keep it 5 on 4. Still, Sam Reinhart passed up ice to a wide open Lundell who buried the shorthanded goal to seemingly ice the game. That was it for the second period with the Panthers up 4-2.

                                                      Giving up a shorty is inexcusable

The first five minutes of the third period were uneventful but then Gustav Forsling was sent to the penalty box for tripping to put the Bruins on the power play. The Bruins failed to cash in but struck pay dirt almost immediately after the penalty expired. With just under 8 minutes gone, Hampus Lindholm dished it to Charlie McAvoy. McAvoy threw it in front where it deflected of the stick of Mark Kastelic and in for Mark's 9th goal of the season. With 10:25 left in the game, Arvidsson broke free for a breakaway but Verhaeghe slashed him in front of the net to draw a penalty. Just nine seconds later, Morgan Geekie dished it to Pastrnak in front of the net. Bob stopped his shot but Middlestadt banged in the rebound to tie the game on his 12th goal of the season. With 4:17 left, Luostarinen got nabbed for high sticking to give the Bruins one final power play. Once again Reinhart broke free for a shorthanded breakaway but Korpisalo stopped this one.

                                                            Bruins tie it up

With 37 seconds gone in overtime, Reinhart dished it to a wide open Lundell but Korpisalo made a big save. Nothing else happened and it was on to the shootout. Lundell went first and scored on Korpisalo only for Arvidsson to score to tie it up. Both Reinhart & Tkachuk missed but so did Khusnutdinov and Middlestadt. Naturally, who else but Marchand scored the game winner to win the game for Florida 5-4 in a shootout.

                                                             Panthers win

Reaction:

No matter where they are in the standings, the Bruins absolutely cannot beat the Panthers. It was nice to see them rally down 4-2 but they gave up way too many shorthanded opportunities. Korpisalo may have allowed 4 goals but he wasn't the problem here. He bailed them out plenty of times as well. Also maybe its time Marco Sturm stops going to the scrubs in the shootout and sends guys like Geekie, Pastrnak and Minten out there. There's only 25 games left in the season and every point matters. The Bruins getting 2 instead of 1 would have put them in a better position in the standings not just now but when all is said and done. The difference is this year the Bruins have guys like Kastelic, Jeannot and Zadorov to match up against Florida's goons and pests like Marchand & Tkachuk. Now the Bruins will be a team divided as the Olympics are upon us. Brad Marchand goes to active duty with Team Canada while Pastrnak joins Slovakia. Charlie McAvoy and Jeremy Swayman join Team USA, Henri Jokiharju and Korpisalo join Finland while Elias & Hampus Lindholm join Team Sweden. The rest get to take a week vacation. The Bruins did get a point in this one, putting them 2 points behind Montreal for the third seed and 3 behind the Detroit Red Wings for the second. The Bruins don't play as a team until February 26th against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Good luck to everyone in the Olympics.

Bruins Hold Off Sabres (10/11/25)

Don't look now but the Boston Bruins have won three games in a row to start the season. Just like in the opener against the Washington Capitals, the Bruins won tonight's game with Jeremy Swayman improving to 2-0 on the season by stopping 21 of 22 shots. Pavel Zacha and Mark Kastelic scored their first goals of the season to put the Bruins up 2-0 on the Buffalo Sabres. Jason Zucker broke up the shutout halfway through the third period but the Bruins defense held steady. The returning Sean Kuraly supplied the empty net goal as the Bruins made it three wins in a row with a 3-1 victory over the Sabres at TD Garden.

                                                  Rhamondre Stevenson approves of the win

The Bruins got the first big chance when David Pastrnak had a partial breakaway but was denied by Buffalo goalie Alex Lyon. Then Viktor Arvidsson was wide open in the slot but fanned on the shot five minutes into the period. The Bruins got the first power play when Connor Timmins was called for hooking with 9:19 left into the period. Unfortunately the Bruins couldn't cash in on it. The Bruins did strike first with 4:12 left in the first period. Andrew Peeke sent the puck around the boards where Jordan Harris saw Pavel Zacha wide open in the slot. Zacha took the one timer and BANG! With 3:38 left, Jiri Kulich was sent to the penalty box for hooking. Unfortunately the Bruins did nothing on the power play but led 1-0 at the end of the first period.

                                                          Zacha's first of the season

The Bruins wasted no time getting sent to the penalty box in the second period as Morgan Geekie was tagged for hooking 43 seconds into it. The stout Bruins defense killed it off but just 5:38 into the period, Fraser Minten tripped Jack Quinn to put Buffalo on a delayed power play. With the extra attacker, Swayman made a huge glove save on a wide open Ryan McLeod to keep the lead. 

                                                             That was close!

With 6 seconds left on the power play, Mark Kastelic tipped the puck away for a breakaway. The only reason he didn't score was he was hooked by Owen Power to put the Sabres on the penalty kill. The Bruins failed to score on the power play but less than a minute later, they struck. Charlie McAvoy just threw the puck on net and it deflected off the stick of Kastelic and in for an unlikely goal. With 2:10 remaining in the period, Tage Thompson was whistled for interference to put the Bruins on another powerplay. Unfortunately one minute later, Pastrnak also got called for interference to make it 4 on 4 for the remainder of the period. The period ended with the Bruins up 2-0.

                                                           Looking good so far

The Sabres had a shortened power play to begin the third period but the Bruins killed it off. The Sabres finally struck nearly halfway through the third period. Mattias Samuelsson tipped the puck over to Jason Zucker. Zucker fired on net and it went off the stick of Samuelsson and in to cut the lead in half. To make matters worse, Charlie McAvoy got busted for tripping just 21 seconds later to put the Sabres on the power play. Once again the Bruins defense killed it off then played keep-away the rest of the game. The Sabres pulled Lyon for the extra attacker but with 10 seconds left in the game, Kastelic tipped the puck away from Tage Thompson over to Elias Lindholm. Lindholm sent it over to Kuraly for his first goal back as a Bruin to ice it. The Bruins had won the game 3-1.

                                                      Welcome back Kuraly

Reaction:

Three games and three wins for new head coach Marco Sturm's squad. Maybe they don't have the talent that they've had just three years ago but when Swayman and the defense play to their potential, they can beat anyone. Having a healthy McAvoy and Hampus Lindholm back (when Hampus comes back) is going to pay dividends since the season flushed down the toilet last year when Mac got hurt in the Four Nations disaster. The Bruins going 4 for 4 on the penalty kill and Swayman stopping 21 of 22 shots was the difference in the game. The key to the game was with 10 minutes left. Buffalo had just scored and McAvoy gets a penalty, they have all the momentum yet couldn't score. The Bruins grinded this one out and its amazing what happens when Nikita Zadorov stays out of the damn box. The Bruins look to make it four wins in a row on Monday night when they face the big bad Tampa Bay Lightning. The game begins at 7:10 at TD Garden.

Minten, Bruins Beat Blackhawks in Overtime (10/9/25)

The bad news was Hampus Lindholm left tonight's Boston Bruins game with the Chicago Blackhawks with an apparent groin injury, the good news was the Bruins bounced back from a 2-1 deficit to win 4-3 in overtime in the home opener at TD Garden. Casey Mittelstadt scored his first goal as a Bruin but Connor Bedard and Louis Crevier scored to put Chicago ahead. Tanner Jeannot scored his first goal as a Bruin and Elias Lindholm scored on the powerplay to give the Bruins the lead. Andre Burakovsky scored to tie the game to send it to overtime. In overtime, Fraser Minten stole the puck and streaked to the net on a 2 on 1, scoring the game winner. The Bruins had won the game 4-3 in overtime at TD Garden.

                                                  Indica Fetish approves of the win

The Blackhawks put four shots on Bruins goalie Joonas Korpisalo in the early goings but the Bruins struck first. Viktor Arvidsson put the puck on the Blackhawks net and it was saved by Arvid Soderblom. Casey Mittelstadt took the rebound and fired it past Soderblom to put the Bruins on top 3:53 into the period. Wit just over 8 minutes left, Connor Bedard took a dish from Andre Burakovsky in the slot and fired past Korpisalo to tie the game. Not too long after, Hampus Lindholm left the game and never returned. With 7 minutes left in the first, Jason Dickinson was whistled for tripping to put the Bruins on the powerplay. They failed to score and David Pastrnak was called for slashing with 5:54 left in the period. The Bruins killed it off and went into the break tied 1-1.

                                                     Mittelstadt scores

The Blackhawks struck first in the second wit 2:19 gone. Old friend Nick Foligno won the faceoff back to Connor Bedard who passed it to Lou Crevier. A simple wrister found its way through and the Hawks had the lead. Crevier nearly had enough one 8 minutes into the period but Korpisalo kicked it out. With 11 minutes left in the period, Michael Eyssimont threw the puck on net. Soderblom kicked it out but Tanner Jeannot scored his first goal as a Bruin on the rebound to tie the game. With 6:52 left, Marat Khusnutdinov got bagged for high sticking to put Chicago on the power play. The Bruins defense held the fort and Chicago was now 0 for 2. With 2:46 left in the period, Sam Rinzel had a wide open shot from the slot but Korpisalo robbed him. The Hawks made a big boo boo with 1:12 left when Foligno flipped the puck out for a delay of game penalty as Ryan Greene cross checked Fraser Minten for the double minor 5 on 3. The Bruins failed to score but still had 48 seconds of 5 on 3 as they went into the break tied 2-2.

                                                            First for Jeannot

Starting the third period on a 5 on 3, just 15 seconds in David Pastrnak passed it to Pavel Zacha down low. Zacha sent it to Elias Lindholm who pounded it in for the power play goal to put the Bruins on top. Lindholm almost had a second goal but Soderblom made a huge save to end the second power play. The lead didn't last as two minutes later, the Hawks caught the Bruins on a 4 on 3. Frank Nazar sent it over to Artyom Levshunov. Levshunov sent it to Burakovsky in the slot who shot it past Korpisalo to tie the game. Just four minutes into the period, Nazar got caught for tripping to put the Bruins on another power play. The Bruins failed to score and Charlie McAvoy got robbed just 8 minutes into the period by Soderblom. With 10:10 remaining, McAvoy got bagged for interference to put the Hawks on the power play. One minute into the penalty kill, Nikita Zadorov crushed Sam Rinzel against the boards. With 5 seconds left on the power play, Korpisalo covered it up and Zadorov pushed Nazar from behind for a cross check. Nazar turned around and socked him to earn a roughing penalty which drew the ire of Kuraly and Levshunov. Those two exchanged unpleasantries and both got called for roughing as well. In essence the Bruins were now 3-0 on the PK in this game. With 6:30 left the Bruins had a 3 on 1 and Minten passed to a wide open Jeannot....saved by Soderblom. With 2:42 left, Levshunov was sent to the penalty box for high sticking. The Blackhawks killed it off and it was on to overtime. At least the Bruins got one point out of this game tied 3-3.

                                                    Another goal for Lindholm

46 seconds into overtime Connor Bedard skated into the slot and passed to Rinzel. Rinzel found Nazar all alone in front of the net. Korpisalo BARELY got his stick on it to save the game. A few moments later the Blackhawks had a 2 on none and Korpisalo robbed Bedard. With 3 minutes left in OT, Minten skated out of a scrum with the puck with Morgan Geekie beside him. Minten took the shot himself.....SCOREEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!! THE BRUINS WIN 4-3 IN OVERTIME!

                                                                   Bruins win

End Rant:

After the game, Bruins head coach Marco Sturm announced that Hampus Lindholm did NOT injure his knee again, so that's a bullet dodged. Otherwise, what a game! Korpisalo let in some softies but made two absolutely "gotta have it" saves in overtime to keep it going. Bruins scouts supposedly pushed for Fraser Minten in the trade for Brandon Carlo last year and it paid off tonight. Minten's first game winner came at a great time with the Bruins on the second night of a back to back. Tanner Jeannot and Casey Mittelstadt both found the net, but more importantly, so did Elias Lindholm again. He was supposed to be their big free agent acquisition last season expecting him to perform like he did in 2022. So far this year he has 2 goals in 2 games, off to a great start. Once again, the Bruins are expected to stink like old garbage this season so enjoy wins like this while you can. Then again, if Jeremy Swayman stands on his head and Korpisalo makes saves like he did tonight, they might actually be better than expected. The Bruins look to make it 3 wins in a row this Saturday night against the Buffalo Sabres. The game begins at 7:00 PM at TD Garden.

Bruins Drop Capitals in Season Opener (10/8/25)

After last season's disaster, most Boston Bruin fans don't have much faith in this year's team. Still, for one night anyway the Bruins got off to a great start to the 2025-26 season, defeating the Washington Capitals on the road. The Bruins defense were the stars of this one, killing off five penalties and holding the Caps to one goal. Jeremy Swayman looked to put last season behind him by stopping 35 of 36 shots thrown his way. David Pastrnak got things going with a second period goal to make it 1-0 but a Tom Wilson deflection tied it with 13 minutes left in the third period. The much maligned Elias Lindholm answered just 38 seconds later to give the Bruins the lead back. The Capitals spent the last few minutes playing dump and chase with Pastrnak setting up Morgan Geekie for the empty netter. There's 81 games still to play, but tonight the Bruins are undefeated with their 3-1 victory over the Capitals at Capital One Arena.

                                                         Kendra Lust approves of the win

Both teams shared a laugh 7 seconds into the game when Alex Ovechkin launched a puck into the Bruins bench which had new head coach Marco Sturm ducking for his life. David Pastrnak took the first Bruins penalty of the season less than two minutes into the game when he and Tom Wilson pretty much hooked each other but Tom got the hometown call. Ovechkin fed Wilson in front on the power-play but Swayman snuffed it out. Jakob Chycrun had a wide open look but Swayman stopped that one too. The Bruins killed it off but disaster almost struck with 5:10 gone. Hampus Lindholm skated into the crease and tried to clear the puck, but whiffed on it and it damn near squirted past Swayman. Nic Dowd poked at it but Swayman had it covered. Trevor van Riemsdyk snatched up Mark Kastelic for an interference call 6:46 into the period to put the Bruins on their first powerplay. Pastrnak fed a wide open Geekie for a one timer but Logan Thompson sent it away. Casey Mittelstadt almost put it in off a skate but Thompson stoned it. The power play ended with nothing else happening. Halfway through the first period Anthony Beauvillier put one on net but it was stick saved by Swayman. Tanner Jeannot drilled Anthony for that treachery. The returning Sean Kuraly put one on Thompson but it was saved. Viktor Arvidsson put it on net with 7 minutes left but Thompson deflected it. Charlie McAvoy dropped Brandon Duhaime but Kuraly was whistled for interference on Nic Dowd with 6:54 remaining in the period. Jeannot nearly had a breakaway goal on the penalty kill but Thompson saved it. The Caps got just one redirect on that power play and the Bruins killed it off. With 4:30 left Elias Lindholm had a wide open one timer but passed it to Geekie who was stoned by Thompson. One pass too many there. With 2 minutes left the legendary Ovechkin was robbed by Swayman before being decked by McAvoy. Pastrnak was set up by Geekie in the slot but the shot went over everything with just over a minute left in the period. Henri Jokiharju cross-checked Duhaine from behind with 46 seconds left to put the Capitals on the power play again. The Capitals failed to score and the Bruins ended the period tied with no score.

                                                "Stop taking stupid penalties!" - Sturm

The second period began with the Bruins on the penalty kill and just 19 seconds into it, McAvoy was whistled for tripping to give the Capitals a 5 on 3 for a full minute. Somehow the Caps failed to score and Jokiharju made a mad dash out of the box as Swayman stopped Wilson cold. The Bruins managed to kill it off to go to 4-0 on the PK. The Caps still had a 12-4 shot advantage 5 minutes into the second period when Thompson robbed Kastelic of a backhand shot. Swayman robbed Nic Dowd of a wide open breakaway with 13:33 but Arvidsson was also robbed of a breakaway by Thompson. Wilson cleaned out Mason Lohrei on a big hit but Mason shook it off. The Bruins finally hit paydirt with 8 minutes left in the second. Nikita Zadorov passed it to Pastrnak who fired at the net....SCORE! Hampus Lindholm parked his carcass in front of Thompson for the screen to allow Pasta's shot to go in for the first goal of the season. 35 seconds later Kastelic was called for tripping to put Washington on the power play again. The Bruins managed to kill it off and Swayman stopped two big shots. The Bruins defense kept Washington at bay and the period ended with Boston ahead 1-0.

                                                          Bruins take the lead

The Capitals had 28 shots and five powerplays with 13 minutes left in the game but no goals to show for it. That changed when Jakob Chychrun found Tom Wilson in the slot, who went top self to tie the game. The Bruins caught a break when John Carlson was called for holding a few seconds after the faceoff. Just 38 seconds after the Caps scored, Elias Lindholm said "Wait, you actually thought you were going to keep the game tied? Hahaha sit down son." Pastrnak streaked toward the goal to draw in defenders, then slipped the puck to Lindholm for the power play goal to put the Bruins back on top. The Bruins defense stopped every attempt after that to get into the zone and got another chance with 6:53 left. Marat Khusnutdinov streaked in alone but Thompson stopped the shot. With five minutes left the Capitals started playing "dump & chase" and the Bruins kept beating them to the puck. With 3 minutes left, Wilson knocked Hampus Lindholm's helmet off for some old time hockey. With the goalie pulled, the Caps swarmed the Bruins net but with a minute left, Elias Lindholm won the faceoff. Pastrnak ended up with it and passed to Morgan Geekie for the wide open empty net goal to ice it. The Capitals failed to score again and the Bruins had won the game 3-1.

                                                                        Bruins win

End Rant:

The Bruins aren't going to win too many games this season unless they play nearly flawless defense like they did in this one. They essentially had to grind out 2 goals but the good news is Swayman looked like himself. Having a full training camp with McAvoy and Lindholm healthy definitely made a difference. The Bruins might have to play like those brutal New Jersey Devils teams that tried to win every game 1-0 or 2-1. It won't be pretty, but if it works, a win is a win. Pastrnak scored or assisted all three goals and he's going to have to turn into a superman if the Bruins want to make the playoffs. Still, that was a good effort all around and going 5-0 on the penalty kill was impressive. Hats off to Elias Lindholm for getting the go-ahead goal. This isn't the 2018 Capitals but a win is a win. The Bruins come home tomorrow night for their home opener against Connor Bedard and the Chicago Blackhawks. The game begins at 7:00 PM at TD Garden.

2025-26 Boston Bruins Preview (10/7/25)

Its another season of Bawful Bruins Hockey and it doesn't look like this year's Boston Bruins will be any good. Cam Neely and Don Sweeney are clearly playing for next year with this year's roster to begin the season. So here's who we got in the starting lineup.

1st Line:

Left Wing - Morgan Geekie

                                                                LW - Morgan Geekie

For the second year in a row the Bruins are banking their first line success on Morgan Geekie, as unfair as that sounds. Still, he burst on the scene in 2024 with 17 goals and 22 assists on a team that was reeling from the loss of a lot of skill players following the 2023 disaster. He even put up 4 goals and an assist in 13 playoff games. Last year he broke out on a bad team with 33 goals and 24 assists. That would be perfect for the second line but unfortunately this team has a dearth of talent. Still, 33 goals is no joke and another season like that would be nice.

Center - Elias Lindholm

                                                             C - Elias Lindholm

Boston's biggest free agent acquisition off-season last season was nowhere near the player he was in 2022 when he put up 42 goals and 40 assists while coming in second behind Patrice Bergeron for the Selke Trophy. In 2025 he scored just 17 goals and assisted on 30 going from a +61 to a -4 in just three years. If the reason is physical decline, that's on Sweeney and Neely for getting him 3 years too late. Still, if he can rediscover his form he had in Calgary, the Bruins MIGHT be able to squeak into the playoffs.

Right Wing - David Pastrnak

                                                          RW - David Pastrnak

The only star left from 2023 is right winger David Pastrnak. 2023's Hart Trophy runner up has seen the losses of Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, Taylor Hall, Zdeno Chara, Tuukka Rask, David Krejci and Charlie Coyle.. Last year Pastrnak did the best he could on a bad team, finishing with 43 goals and 63 assists. If Elias. Lindholm can play anywhere close like he did in Calgary, this line could be deadly. If not, then Pastrnak will just put up points on a bad team.

2nd Line:

Left Wing - Pavel Zacha

                                                               LW - Pavel Zacha

Its a shame the Bruins turned out the way they did last year because Pavel Zacha's career was revitalized in 2023. Drafted 6th overall in the infamous 2015 NHL Draft, Zacha was a titanic bust for the New Jersey Devils before becoming an unsung hero of the 2023 team with 21 goals and 36 assists. After putting up a similar season in 2024, he regressed in 2025 with just 14 goals and 33 assists. Losing Brad Marchand and Charlie Coyle didn't help when the lines went haywire after the deadline. It doesn't look like this year will be any better considering who his linemates are. He might be trade bait come February if this team nosedives.

Center - Casey Mittelstadt

                                                         C - Casey Mittlestadt

Through no fault of his own, the fact that Casey Mittlestadt is the Bruins second line center is an out and out disgrace. He wouldn't have been on the fourth line back in 2023 and now he's got to anchor a line that might determine if the Bruins make the playoffs or not. Middlestadt, like Zacha, was the 8th overall pick by Buffalo back in 2017 and has been a titanic bust as well. Traded to the Bruins as part of the package for Charlie Coyle, he had just 11 goals and 23 assists in Colorado before putting up a whopping 4 goals and 2 assists in 18 games in Boston. The bottom line is its not Casey's fault he's on a line he's not suited for, its the Bruins front office devoting too much cap space to the wrong guys. Maybe he'll have a good season this year, who knows?

Right Wing - Viktor Arvidsson

                                                        RW - Viktor Arvidsson

If getting Elias Lindholm 3 years late wasn't bad enough, the Bruins big trade this past summer was sending a 5th round pick in the 2027 draft to the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for Viktor Arvidsson. Viktor looked like he was about to be Nashville's breakout star with 94 goals and 76 assists between 2017-19 but he hasn't come close to those numbers since. He did put up 59 points in 2023 with the Los Angeles Kings but only played 18 games due to injuries in 2024. Last year for the Stanley Cup Finalist Edmonton Oilers he had just 15 goals and 12 assists while playing in just 15 of their 22 playoff games. If the Oilers that came within an eyelash of the Stanley Cup pretty much hangs a sign on a guy that says "please take", you know something's wrong. Still, you never know. Maybe Viktor will turn it around this season on a team with no expectations.

3rd Line:

Left Wing - Tanner Jeannot

                                                          LW - Tanner Jeannot

Speaking of guys picked up from Nashville 3 years too late, the Bruins starting third line left winger is Tanner Jeannot. Jeannot looked like a breakout star in 2022 with 24 goals and 17 assists for the Predators. He's scored just 20 goals since in the previous years. Once again, you gotta wonder what goes through the minds of Don Sweeney and Cam Neely when they see Tanner Jeannot fall off a cliff after 2022 and say "Ooooh we need THAT guy!" Then again, they didn't get him because of his offensive talent. They got him to bash some skulls in with his 403 career penalty minutes. Now if the Bruins had better talent on the top 2 lines, this would be the perfect compliment. Unfortunately, the Bruins need offense.

Center - Fraser Minten

                                                                C - Fraser Minten

The one good move most people agreed with during last year's fire sale was trading Brandon Carlo to the Toronto Maple Leafs for a first round pick in the 2026 draft and 20 year old prospect Fraser Minten. Fans of Steve Dangle remember Minten from Steve's Big PP (Prospect Pyramid) where he wasn't supposed to turn into an elite player, but was still supposed to be serviceable. As a 20 year old. he played in 6 games after the trade to Boston and scored a goal. Hopefully he can turn into a star because the Bruins are thin in terms of young talent. We're going to see what he's made of this year, that's for sure.

Right Wing - Michael Eyssimont

                                                         RW - Michael Eyssimont

One thing Sweeney and Neely wanted to improve on during the off-season was team toughness. Last year they had Mark Kastelic and not much else. He rectified that by signing 29 year old Michael Eyssimont as a free agent. Eyssimont's goal isn't to put the puck in the net, although he did score 9 goals last season. His mission is to protect Fraser Minten and beat the crap out of people. He had 104 penalty minutes in 2024 and 63 last season. The Bruins may not score many goals this season, but they want to make the other team earn theirs by having to get through Jeannot, Kastelic and Eyssimont.

4th Line:

Right Wing - Marat Khusnutdinov

                                                               RW - Marat Khusnutdinov

The fourth line is pretty much interchangeable and probably won't feature the same guys all season. Their right winger to start will be 22 year old Russian Marat Khusnutdinov. He had 2 goals and 5 assists for the Minnesota Wild when he was included in the package deal at the deadline last year for Justin Brazeau. He scored 3 goals and assisted on 2 more to finish the season. The fact that this guy made the team over guys like Matt Poitras and Fabian Lysell shows just how AWFUL Sweeney and Neely are at drafting. Strictly bottom of the barrel here.

Center - Sean Kuraly

                                                              C - Sean Kuraly

Oh look, the Bruins brought Sean Kuraly back. Kuraly was a fourth line grinder that became an unsung hero on the 2019 Stanley Cup Final run and scored the double overtime game winner against Ottawa in 2017. Unfortunately those runs were long ago and now its a down year. Kuraly isn't going to light the world on fire but at least he's a familiar face after spending 5 years before moving on. Unfortunately this team needs talent, not nostalgia.

Right Wing - Mark Kastelic

                                                               RW - Mark Kastelic

The Bruins shot themselves in the foot in the 2024 off-season when they traded Linus Ullmark of Goalie Hug INC to the Ottawa Senators for a first round pick, Joonas Korpisalo and Mark Kastelic. The only bright side of the trade was Kastelic. On a team needing nastiness, he was the perfect Bruin. He scored 5 goals with 9 assists but amassed 106 penalty minutes. On a team with actual talent, he'd be their Shawn Thornton or PJ Stock. Still, last year he had to do it alone. This year he has Jeannot and Eyssimont to help him out. Maybe he'll score a few more goals this year, who knows?

Defense pairing 1:

Left Defense - Mason Lohrei

                                                          LD - Mason Lohrei

After Zdeno Chara left, the Bruins needed someone to step up with Charlie McAvoy becoming the #1 d-man. It took a few years but it looks like Mason Lohrei is a budding player. In 2024 he scored 4 goals and put up 9 assists but last year he scored 5 goals with 28 assists. If the Bruins powerplay isn't completely useless, and if Hampus Lindholm is healthy, Lohrei's assist numbers might be even better this year. That's a big if, though. If he falters, can't say anyone would be surprised.

Right Defense - Charlie McAvoy

                                                               RD - Charlie McAvoy

One of the reasons the Bruins crashed and burned last season was the injury to Charlie McAvoy. The Bruins had already lost Hampus Lindholm for the season but Charlie played his last game on February 8th. Naturally the B's dropped like a dead deer leading to the fire sale. When healthy, Charlie is one of the better defensemen in the game, taking 4th place in the Norris Trophy race in 2022. Fully healthy, the Bruins should be better defensively this season. Just pray Lindholm or Lohrei doesn't get hurt.

Defense Pairing 2:

Left Defense - Hampus Lindholm

                                                         LD - Hampus Lindholm

Like Charlie McAvoy, one of the big reasons the Bruins crashed and burned last season was the season ending injury to Hampus Lindholm after just 17 games. Lindholm was acquired at the 2022 trade deadline and took 4th place in the Norris Trophy voting in 2023 apart of the regular season juggernaut. He regressed in 2024 with just 3 goals all season but was bouncing back in 2025 when his season was cut short. If he comes back healthy this season, the Bruins will at least be better defensively. One of the reasons Jim Montgomery was fired as them losing BADLY in November and December. Still, it would be nice to have some insurance in case someone goes down again.

Right Defense - Andrew Peeke

                                                         RD - Andrew Peeke

When the Bruins picked up Andrew Peeke at the 2024 deadline, the guy they gave up was Jakob Zboril of the infamous 2015 draft. Peeke has scored exactly one goal in 91 games with the Bruins showing that draft was toxic in more ways than one. Still, as long as he keeps the puck out of the net, any offense is secondary. The Bruins haven't had a defensive shutdown specialist since Dennis Seidenberg, would be nice for Peeke to settle into that role.

Defensive Pairing 3:

Left Defense - Nikita Zadorov

                                                             LD - Nikita Zadorov

Its put up or shut up time for Zadorov. The Bruins signed him to a massive contract for the 2025 season and he didn't even come close to the type of player the Bruins needed. The B's haven't had a bruiser that could score since Zdeno Chara left town and Zadorov wasn't that guy at all. He did lead the team in penalty minutes, but that was more taking stupid penalties than actual toughness. The Bruins gave up a lot of power play goals with him in the box and that has to change big time. With expectations low this year, maybe Zadorov will play better now that he's had a year to adjust. Just stay out of the damn box.

Right Defense - Henri Jokiharju

                                                           RD - Henri Jokiharju

After the injury to Charlie McAvoy ended his season, the Bruins sent a 4th round pick in 2026 to the Buffalo Sabres for defenseman Henri Jokiharju. Jokiharju scored no goals in 18 games and is strictly depth. His best season after coming up with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2019 was in 2024 where he had a whopping 20 points for the Sabres. If the Bruins had anybody better, they'd be in this spot. Will he be any good? Who the hell knows.

Goalies:

Starting Goalie - Jeremy Swayman

                                                         G - Jeremy Swayman

Basically the 2025 season rode on Jeremy Swayman and he pretty much crumbled. He spent 3 years in the tag team of Goalie Hug INC with Linus Ullmark until Linus was traded after the 2024 season for Joonas Korpisalo. Swayman held out for more money and got paid a king's ransom....but missed training camp. Swayman never got out of the box, going from a .916 save percentage in 2024 to a miserable .892 last season. He led the league in goals allowed and clearly he missed Ullmark as much as he missed training camp. With a full off-season to rest with no playoffs and a full training camp, this year there's no excuse. He has to prove he's worth the 8 million dollar contract or else the Bruins are stuck with TWO albatross goalie contracts. 

Backup Goalie - Joonas Korpisalo

                                                                 G - Joonas Korpisalo

The downfall of the Boston Bruins can be traced back to a singular moment. On June 24, 2024 the Bruins traded Linus Ullmark to the Ottawa Senators for a first round pick, Mark Kastelic and goalie Joonas Korpisalo. Why was this a monumental mistake? Not only did it break up Goalie Hug INC but Korpisalo was the worst goalie contract in the league. A fringe backup goalie with the Columbus Blue Jackets and Los Angeles Kings signed for 5 years and 20 million dollars with Ottawa prior to the 2024 season. He was 21-26 with Ottawa and for some ungodly reason, the Bruins took on the god-awful contract. Last year he was as bad as advertised, going 11-10 with an .893 save percentage. With 3 years remaining on the deal, he's not going anywhere. The best the Bruins can hope for is Jeremy Swayman returns to form. Otherwise, they're headed to another losing season.

Healthy Scratches:

Defenseman - Jordan Harris

                                                                      D - Jordan Harris

Starting the season in the press box will be 25 year old defenseman Jordan Harris of Haverhill, Massachusetts. The star of Northeastern University was drafted by the Montreal Canadiens and played 131 games for them before ending the 2025 season with the Columbus Blue Jackets. He's a fringe player at best but since he's a local yokel, maybe he'll sell some tickets on the games he plays.

Forwards:

Center - John Beecher

                                                            C - Beecher

More proof that Neely and Sweeney suck at drafting. Beecher was the Bruins first round pick in 2019 and didn't make his NHL debut until the 2024 season, putting up just 10 points in 52 games. Last year in 78 games he put up a whopping 11 points. This year, he wasn't even good enough to make the opening night roster. He definitely will play this season due to injuries and ineffectiveness, but the fact he can barely crack a roster is concerning. If the Bruins stink this year, how can we trust the Bruins front office to make the right decision in the draft when they never do?

Left Wing - Jeffrey Viel

                                                          LW - Jeffrey Viel

Just in case the Bruins need another cement head, they have Jeffrey Viel ready to roll. Viel played 34 games for the Winnipeg Jets in 2022 and amassed 114 penalty minutes. He's been an AHL goon the previous two seasons. If something happens to Kastelic, Jeannot or Eyssimont, they have Viel ready to throw hands. At least THAT would be entertaining.

Head Coach - Marco Sturm

                                                        HC - Marco Sturm

It wouldn't be "The Boys Club" for the Boston Bruins without one of their "boys" as head coach. After Jim Montgomery was unceremoniously dumped and shuffled off to St. Louis, Joe Sacco filled in admirably. After the season the Bruins needed a real head coach and tabbed.....their former 2008 playoff hero Marco Sturm. Fans remember his scintillating goal in Game 6 against Montreal that literally shook the TD Garden before knee injuries ruined his career. Still, he's spent the last 3 season coaching the AHL's Ontario Reign where they at least got to the second round in in 2024. Not exactly a "local yokel" but still known to Bruins fans during his time as a player. Not sure what he's going to bring to the table besides an impeccable suit & tie.

All in all the Bruins have all the makings of a team that's going to miss the playoffs again unless Swayman stands on his head. Their offense isn't good enough and their defense isn't anything special either. If Swayman rediscovers his form he showed in 2023-24, they might end up a 7th or 8th seed. Otherwise, expect the lottery again.