Need to Know: Bruins vs. Capitals | Preseason

BOSTON –– Hockey is officially back on Causeway Street.

​The Boston Bruins will host the Washington Capitals on Sunday at 5 p.m. at TD Garden in the first of four preseason games.

"It is great to be back," head coach Marco Sturm said. "It's been a great summer. Guys have been pretty good the last three days, too. It's been very exciting. So hopefully they can translate it to game one here at home."

Training camp opened on Tuesday for the B’s, with on-ice sessions starting on Wednesday at Warrior Ice Arena. Now, with a mix of prospects, regulars, and veterans, the players will put their practice work to use in a game setting.

Fraser Minten, James Hagens and Marat Khusnutdinov are expected to be on the first line. The young trio has been skating together for the last three days. Minten said they want their group’s identity to be in-your-face, hard-working, playmaking and fiery on the forecheck. It will be Hagens’ first preseason game with the Bruins; the 19-year-old forward joined the group for two regular-season and three playoff matchups at the end of last year.

"Just play and have fun basically. We touched on a lot of things the last three days. I don't want them to overthink things. Just get out and use your speed. They all can skate, they have skill and right now they should just go out there, feel free and have fun," Sturm said. "I thought they got better every day. If you look at the little scrimmage we had yesterday, they were our best line. So I felt like I'm going to keep them together and let them play for a game." 

On the backend, Frederic Brunet will skate with Charlie McAvoy, who has been mentoring the 23-year-old defenseman this week. Brunet is coming off a career-high season with Providence in the AHL – he led the team’s blueliners with 36 points (12 goals, 24 assists) – and is pushing to make the jump to the NHL.

"I think it is a great starting point for a guy like Brunet getting into this league. We have high hopes on him. We want to develop him the right way. I think Charlie will give us the right start for a guy like him," Sturm said. "I just want him to play a solid game and be there for each other. Hopefully a good start for something big." 

The Bruins will face the Capitals twice this preseason, heading to Washington on Friday to complete their exhibition slate.

Wait, There’s More

• Michael DiPietro will start in net for the Bruins. The 27-year-old goaltender is embracing the opportunity to secure the backup position with the main club this year after Boston traded Joonas Korpisalo to the New York Rangers in July. DiPietro had a .930 save percentage and 1.91 goals against average through 45 games with Providence during the 2025-26 campaign. Jiri Patera will back up DiPietro.

• Matt Poitras, who signed a one-year, two-way contract extension with an NHL cap hit of $850,000 on Wednesday, is also in the lineup. The 22-year-old center has been practicing on a line with Attilio Biasca and Lukas Reichel at training camp; both of them are playing against the Capitals, too. Poitras had 44 points (13 goals, 31 assists) in 69 games with Providence last season.

• Jordan Harris is looking to make an impression on Sunday after only logging eight games with the Bruins last year; the defenseman fractured his ankle early on and had a lengthy recovery. The Haverhill, Massachusetts, native signed a one-year, $850,000 contract with Boston in July. Harris has been on a pair with Henri Jokiharju during camp.

Opposing View

• The Capitals traveled with two goaltenders: Mitchell Gibson and Logan Thompson. Gibson, who played four years of NCAA hockey at Harvard University, played 23 games in the AHL with the Hershey Bears and 13 games in the ECHL with the South Carolina Stingrays during the 2025-26 season. Thompson, on the other hand, posted a .912 SV% and 2.44 GAA through 58 games with Washington last year.

• Alex Tuch will be in the lineup for the Capitals. The Bruins recently faced Tuch in the first round of the 2026 playoffs when he was with the Buffalo Sabres. Tuch was subsequently traded to Washington in June with an eight-year, $84 million contract extension. He had 66 points (33 goals, 33 assists) through 79 regular-season games in his final run with the Sabres.

• Cole Hutson is expected to be on the backend on Sunday. The 20-year-old defenseman is entering his first full NHL season after joining the Capitals for 14 games at the end of last year following two years at Boston University; Hutson logged 10 points (three goals, seven assists) during his brief professional stretch.