Scoreless through two periods with the New York Rangers in their season opener, the Boston Bruins were the better team for a good chunk of the game. However, there was a chance that they would go to overtime and a possible shootout; the Black and Gold were not guaranteed the two points in the standings that they deserved.
However, three goals, 75 seconds apart late in the third period, sparked by Fraser Minten's game-winning strike, helped the Bruins open the season with a 3-0 win over the Rangers. Here are three winners and two losers from the season-opening victory for Marco Sturm's club.
Winner: Jeremy Swayman
A big reason why the game was scoreless in the third period was the play of goalie Jeremy Swayman. He ended up making 24 saves, including some big ones, especially in the third period when New York came out flying and had five shots in the first two minutes.
It's just one game, but Swayman looked very good. He was tracking the puck well and was aggressive in his crease, cutting down angles. Was it perfect in front of him? No. Some turnovers almost ended up in the back of the net, but Boston's $8.25 million netminder was huge all night long. He wasn't affected by the short training camp.
Loser: Bruins 4th line
It was a tough night for this group, Sean Kuraly, Tanner Jeannot, and Mark Kastelic, who scored an empty-net goal to seal the win, struggled mightily. Kuraly looked slow all night long, and the line was pinned in midway through the third period when the Rangers turned up the pressure, but Swayman was up for the challenge. If there is a line that owes Swayman a dinner on the upcoming road trip, it's the fourth line.
Winner: JJ Peterka
Sturm put JJ Peterka, acquired from the Utah Mammoth back in June for two first-round draft picks. He was flying around all night with captain David Pastrnak, and they had some good chances to find the back of the net, but Igor Shesterkin was up for the challenge each time. However, after Fraser Minten opened the scoring at 16:14 of the third period, Peterka added some insurance with a nice move in the offensive zone and scoring on a mini breakaway.
INTRODUCING J.J. PETERKA 🤯 pic.twitter.com/m2Y3i6Ft2a
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) September 30, 2026
Surprisingly, his goal was his only shot on net in the game, which made it 2-0, 52 seconds after Minten's strike. Peterka looked good all night, and playing with Pastrnak is only going to help him produce for the Black and Gold.
Loser: Elias Lindholm
While Peterka and Pastrnak were good, the same can't be said for their center, Elias Lindholm. It was a rough night in all three zones. You wonder how long Sturm will stick with Lindholm as his top-line center before making some changes. That isn't going to happen on Friday night against the Winnipeg Jets, as he'll give it more time, but at some point, you need a faster and more skilled center on the top line. It isn't Lindholm.
Winner: Morgan Geekie
Another key offensive forward in the top six for the Bruins is Morgan Geekie, who is on the second line with Pavel Zacha and Casey Mittlestadt. They played well and buzzed around, and they had some golden scoring chances, including for Geekie.
Geekie had a team-high five hits, and he hit the crossbar in the second period. He made some nice passes to set up Zacha, who had some golden chances to score but came up short, including a shot off the post in the third period. If Geekie continues to play like that, the goals will come.
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