It might mean nothing to the Boston Bruins after their season-opening win, but the undisciplined penalties in the first two periods could've put them in a bad spot if it weren't for an outstanding penalty-killing night. While they killed all five penalties against the Washington Capitals' power play, it might not be as easy when teams get sharper as the season goes on.
Penalties are sometimes hard to avoid in hockey, but following the discipline issues from last season, it would've been nice to see the Bruins play a cleaner game on Wednesday night. It wasn't that Boston took five penalties, but the manner in which they took them is a bit concerning. The undisciplined play, which carried over from last season, was a bit surprising, as the team had looked so much more committed to other areas since Marco Sturm took over.
It started with David Pastrnak, who took a hooking penalty on Tom Wilson when he didn't really have to take him down on a meaningless play in the offensive zone. Then, Sean Kuraly took an interference penalty on a play where he let Nic Dowd wind him up into taking it, and the same goes for Henri Jokihaju after a run-in with Brandon Duhaime.
Two tripping penalties in the second period from Charlie McAvoy and Mark Kastelic when they took the legs out from their opponents on plays where the stick and puck were accessible, and the Bruins didn't do themselves any favors on Wednesday night. Luckily, Jeremy Swayman looked the best that we've seen him since the 2024 playoffs and carried the team to a victory.
For the Bruins and their fans, they should take this victory tonight as proof that if they play a certain way there is a path to contention in the 2025-26 season. If they clean up the penalties, the chances of that happen increase even more.