Need to Know: Bruins vs. Blackhawks

BOSTON –– Hockey is officially back.

The Boston Bruins will skate in their home opener at TD Garden on Thursday against the Chicago Blackhawks with a 7 p.m. puck drop.

The 2025-26 season began on Wednesday for the Bruins, who beat the Washington Capitals 3-1 at Capital One Arena. Now, they aim to replicate that success in front of the B’s faithful.

David Pastrnak led Boston with three points (one goal, two assists) while skating on the first line with Morgan Geekie and Elias Lindholm. The forward is picking up right where he left off after posting 106 points last year.

​“He was great,” head coach Marco Sturm said. “I thought he was outstanding on the bench, too. Very positive and kept the guys going.”

Wednesday marked Sturm’s first win as an NHL head coach, and he was gifted the game puck in the locker room after the victory. Sturm’s lessons and messages from training camp proved to be rubbing off on the ice as his team played a defensively sound, physical and fast 60 minutes.

“It’s something that we really wanted to come together as a team about, and being a part of his first NHL win was really special. He deserves it. We’re going to keep going for him,” said Jeremy Swayman, who had 35 saves.

The Bruins’ penalty kill went 5-for-5 against the Capitals, and the power play was 1-for-2. Special teams are a strength Boston is looking to build on as the season progresses.

“Those are the moments that always come up, and those are where you have to shine and get the momentum back,” Sturm said. “That is what happened.”

The focus now shifts to the Blackhawks, who dropped their first game of the season, 3-2, to the Florida Panthers on Tuesday.

“It’s important for our group to take the momentum we had from training camp and just continue it,” Swayman said. “I think we just have to stay consistent and know that things are going to get better.”

Wait, There’s More

• Charlie McAvoy led the Bruins with seven hits on Wednesday through 22:31 of time on ice. The defenseman is skating on the first pair with Mason Lohrei, who had three blocked shots. Thursday’s home-opener will be McAvoy’s first regular-season game back at TD Garden since Feb. 8; last year was cut short for McAvoy due to injury.
• Elias Lindholm had two points (one goal, one assist) against the Capitals on Wednesday. Lindholm’s tally was the Bruins’ first power-play goal of the year off a breakout play new assistant coach Steve Spott drew up. Lindholm is on the first unit with Pastrnak, Geekie, McAvoy and Pavel Zacha.
• Henri Jokiharju was a first-round pick for the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2017 NHL Draft. The defenseman played 28 games with Chicago in his rookie 2018-19 season before he was traded to the Buffalo Sabres in July 2019. Jokiharju landed in Boston in March and is on the third pair with Nikita Zadorov.

Opposing View

• Connor Bedard, the 2023 first overall pick, will center the first line for the Blackhawks. The 20-year-old forward had 67 points (23 goals, 44 assists) in 82 games last season. Bedard scored his first NHL goal at TD Garden on Oct. 11, 2023, in the eventual 3-1 Bruins win.
• Former Bruin Matt Grzelcyk is now a member of the Blackhawks. The defenseman signed a one-year deal with Chicago this week after entering training camp on a professional tryout. Grzelcyk is on the third pair with Connor Murphy. In his final season in Boston (2023-24), Grzelcyk recorded 11 points (two goals, nine assists) in 63 games.
• Arvid Soderblom is expected to start in net for Chicago. The 26-year-old goaltender had a 3.18 goals against average and a .898 save percentage in 36 games last season. Spencer Knight – who played two seasons of NCAA hockey at Boston College – is another option for the Blackhawks.

Thursday's Projected Lineup

FORWARDS

Morgan Geekie - Elias Lindholm - David Pastrnak

Pavel Zacha - Casey Mittelstadt - Viktor Arvidsson

Tanner Jeannot - Fraser Minten - Mikey Eyssimont

Marat Khusnutdinov - Sean Kuraly - Mark Kastelic

DEFENSEMEN

Mason Lohrei - Charlie McAvoy

Hampus Lindholm - Andrew Peeke

Nikita Zadorov - Henri Jokiharju

GOALIES

Jeremy Swayman/Joonas Korpisalo