By: Megan Thun | Follow me on Twitter / X @MthunHockey
The start of the National Hockey League regular season is almost upon us! With the new 84-game format, teams will be under more pressure within their division to gain points. Every game is important, but some are more important than others. For the Bruins, this pressure arrives immediately: their first six games will be played without Charlie McAvoy.
WHO: Rangers @ Bruins | WHEN: September 29th, 8p ET | WHERE: TD Garden | STAKES: Eastern Conference, 2 regular season points
The Boston Bruins will be hosting the New York Rangers for their season opener September 29th. This showdown in TD Garden is going to feature a retooled Rangers; nine new players joined the team in 2026. While these aren’t starry-eyed rookies, team cohesion is a factor. Likewise, the Rangers’ stats aren’t impressive. The 2025-2026 season had lackluster numbers from the offensive lines and unimpressive goaltending.
The Rangers are looking more like a rebuild than a ready-to-go team, but Boston should not risk phoning in this season opener at home. That being said, Bruins fans should make sure that they’re doing their stretches for victory celebrations.
WHO: Bruins @ Jets | WHEN: October 2nd, 8p ET | WHERE: Canada Life Centre | STAKES: 2 regular season points
In the first of a back-to-back Central Division excursion, the Bruins will be visiting the Winnipeg Jets on October 2nd. This match-up will likely be Michael DiPietro’s 2026-2027 season debut wearing the spoked B. Why? The Jets have every bit of bite as the Rangers, but this game doesn’t carry the weight of a divisional, conference, or home game.
The stakes are important; every point is going to matter in this 84-game season, but there won’t be any on-ramps for a goalie that make more sense than this. Facing the Jets lets DiPietro take the ice while also letting Swayman rest for the Wild’s home opener on October 3rd. That being said, Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor are going to make DiPietro prove himself. Boston fans who are excited about the new goalie should definitely tune in to this match-up.
WHO: Bruins @ Wild | WHEN: October 3rd, 8p ET | WHERE: Grand Casino Arena | STAKES: 2 regular season points
Night two of the back-to-back road set is going to be bloody. The Wild are coming into their home opener with a black eye from their playoff exit in the 2025-2026 season. This Central Division powerhouse runs a system where scoring threats can come from anyone. The Wild have two defensemen sitting in their top ten point producers, so Boston cannot dismiss the blueline threat. With big names carrying big reputations, the Wild aren’t going to be an easy win, especially on their home ice.
The Bruins will need to dig deep, bare their teeth, and fight for this game. The Wild will be rested, in front of a home crowd, and ready to start earning their way back into the playoffs to settle their grudge against Colorado. If the Bruins are going to avoid becoming a stepping stone, they’re going to need to answer that with their own fire. This one is going to hurt.
WHO: Senators @ Bruins | WHEN: October 5th, 7:30p ET | WHERE: TD Garden | STAKES: Divisional match-up, 2 regular season points, streaky curse
The truest threat that the Wild represents is the psychological backlash that a hard game can produce. Boston earned an unfortunate reputation last season for letting losses cluster. Even a hard win can set a team on their back foot, so this return to the Garden is going to matter in more ways than points and standings: Has Boston fixed the mind game that beat them? Or will they let opportunity get picked off in what is guaranteed to be an old-school Atlantic Division knife fight? More than any of the other four games in this opening five-game stretch, this one matters.
This is divisional points and tone-setting for the next eighty games. Ottawa is coming in with a fresh culture and new faces, but they’re not an opponent to be underestimated. Statistically, the Sens lean heavily into assist-driven scoring, distributing the threat potential across the roster; they’ve acquired new talent, and they’ve trimmed their roster, but the dominant threat is going to be in their unit cohesion rather than any one breakout star player. That makes them more dangerous, not less, because it will demand that same cohesion from the Bruins.
WHO: Mammoth @ Bruins | WHEN: October 8th, 7:00p ET | WHERE: TD Garden | STAKES: 2 regular season points
Game five of the regular season sees JJ Peterka and Andrew Peeke both having a competitive reunion with their former teams. The Mammoth aren’t a team to sneeze at, finishing last season with a Western Conference wild-card berth [cite]. For a team that was only in its second year, they came out swinging. Utah’s offseason moves look like those of a team building depth and power. Utah proved they can land a playoff-worthy punch; now they’re putting muscle behind it.
For the Bruins, this means answering with their own weight. Boston will be flexing its defensive muscles in this match, and its forwards will have their work cut out. The Bruins’ opportunity to give this retooled defensive system a serrated-edged Atlantic Division welcome will come at the risk of seeing just how hard this young team can bite back.
Every game matters, some more than others. The Bruins have a long road ahead of them, but Boston has never been afraid of the fight. They enter the season with a strong defensive setup, forwards ready to savage the opposition, and a goalie pair with a pedigree of excellence. It won’t be easy, but that’s what makes it great.
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