By: Declan Flavin | Follow me on Twitter / X @FlavinDeclan
The 2025-26 regular season is less than a week away for the Boston Bruins, and the team’s new culture will finally get a chance to establish itself early. After last season’s disappointment, the fan base made its critiques loud and clear early in the offseason. Then came the draft, highlighted by the intriguing selection of Boston College product James Hagens, which gave General Manager Don Sweeney a chance to lay out his plan for the franchise moving forward.
Put simply, the Bruins want to blend their slimmer but talented youth with the physicality of veterans, both to create space for younger players and to keep pace with opponents’ up-tempo forechecking systems. Fans will need to see it consistently to believe it, and what could be more important than setting the tone out of the gate?
Game 1: October 8, at Washington Capitals
With forwards Alex Ovechkin and Tom Wilson still in the lineup, the Capitals will bring a physical edge the Bruins will need to match. Their depth has grown over the years, with accommodating forwards Aliaksei Protas and Ryan Leonard providing promising young talent. This opening game could see the Bruins leaning on their defensive corps, as they likely will all season, to keep the score low while generating enough offensive chances to test the opponent’s lackluster defensive pairings.
Continuing to build their roster, the Capitals do still remain prone to scoring lulls, relying somewhat on a 40-year-old Russian who doesn’t have many seasons left. Expect a game in which both teams test each other’s physicality, with one looking to build on past success and the other aiming to start its own.
Game 2: October 9, vs Chicago Blackhawks
The Blackhawks are on a different trajectory in their rebuild, experimenting slowly to find the right combinations for their offensive pieces. The team is led by forward Connor Bedard, and beyond him, generating offense against the Bruins is likely to be a struggle. Old friend and forward Ryan Donato will likely play a top-six role, joining the many former Bruins the Blackhawks have added over the years.
This game gives the Bruins an opportunity to impose their style after sharpening themselves against the Capitals, and they are expected to do just that. Anything less would suggest a slow start in establishing the way the Bruins want to play.
Game 3: October 11, vs Buffalo Sabres
The Sabres are far from a finished product, but the Bruins cannot overlook forward Tage Thompson and the team’s other skilled players. On paper, this opponent may not be strong, but the offensive youth can be dangerous if the Bruins carry over the period-to-period inconsistency from last season. Defenseman Charlie McAvoy will need to focus on Thompson all game, providing coverage and the physical presence necessary to jumpstart the Bruins’ offensive attack.
The team could easily lose a game like this if it starts poorly, making it another test for the Bruins to play a full 60 minutes regardless of the score. The Bruins cannot allow the star player to take over the game.
Ovechkin, Bedard, and Thompson out of the shoot? The team will have to be responsible in their own zone in order to thrust into their attack plan. Once the team is able to get the puck deep, they should have no problem finding opportunities to wear down incapable defensemen.
With bodies at full capacity to start the season, there should be no lulls in urgency for a team that wants to put the opponents on its heels. Responsibility and persistence will be the name of these games.
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