It has been nearly five months since the Boston Bruins were eliminated in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs by the Buffalo Sabres in six games. A long offseason is over, and the 2026-27 season began for the Black and Gold and second-year coach Marco Sturm on Tuesday night at TD Garden against the New York Rangers.
There were some changes for the Bruins this past offseason, but when the dust settled on training camp, there were some not-so-surprising additions to the roster. JJ Peterka, who was acquired from the Utah Mammoth, was in the top six, and youngster James Hagens made the roster and slotted in on the "Kid Line" once again with Fraser Minten and Marat Khusnutdinov. Gone is Viktor Arvidsson to the Detroit Red Wings in free agency.
With some of the roster turnover and without Charlie McAvoy for the first six games was he serves his suspension for slashing Zach Benson at the end of Game 6 last spring, who was going to light the lamp first for the Bruins in 2026-27? We got that answer on Tuesday night in the xxxxx period.
Fraser Minten scores Bruins first goal of the 2026-27 season
After a scoreless first and second period, the game looked destined for overtime late in the third period until Fraser Minten stepped up. He carried the puck into the Rangers' zone and beat Igor Shesterkin with a wrist shot to the blocker side for a 1-0 lead at 16:14 of the third period.
What a release 😮💨
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) September 30, 2026
Fraser Minten scores the Bruins first of the season late in the third period 🚨 pic.twitter.com/DGXAJFe1g9
That opened the floodgates for the Black and Gold as JJ Peterka scored his first goal as a Bruin before Mark Kastelic put the game away with an empty-net goal. Minten stepped up in his first game after signing a seven-year deal that he inked over the summer for $50 million.
Minten's strike began a stretch of three Boston goals in 75 seconds to begin the season with an 11-straight home win to began a season. All in all, it was a good night, and Minten sent everyone home happy with his first goal of the season for himself and the Bruins.
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