Another first is on tap for the Boston Bruins.
After splitting a back-to-back road trip, Boston opens a three-game homestand with its first Atlantic Division test of the season against the Ottawa Senators on Monday night.
The Bruins could not pull off a sweep of two teams playing their home openers, taking a 4-1 loss to the Minnesota Wild on Saturday after beating the Winnipeg Jets 4-3 on JJ Peterka’s game-winner in overtime a night earlier.
“Special teams were probably the difference, both ways. But I really liked our 5-on-5 game,” Boston coach Marco Sturm said in Minnesota. “We didn’t really give them much. Our first period was outstanding. A lot of good things happened (on Saturday). … Guys battled hard. They really did.”
Both of Boston’s specialty units have struggled, with the power play yet to score in six chances and the penalty kill going 4-for-7. On Saturday, Tanner Jeannot gave the Bruins a 1-0 lead in just 1:53, but Minnesota took control with a pair of power-play goals in the second period.
Fellow fourth-liner Mark Kastelic set up Jeannot’s goal with a touch feed through his legs, giving him a team-high three points (one goal, two assists).
“He’s been playing unreal. I told him before the game, ‘Just keep doing what you’re doing,'” Jeannot said. “He’s the heartbeat of this team. He’s doing everything — he’s putting his body on the line, he’s getting points right now. It’s been a lot of fun playing with him.”
Peterka scored in Boston’s first two games. He recorded his third straight 25-goal season last year with the Utah Mammoth, who play in Boston on Thursday.
The Bruins figure to turn back to Jeremy Swayman in goal after reigning AHL Most Valuable Player Michael DiPietro made his Boston debut with a 26-save effort. It was the 27-year-old’s first NHL start since 2022, when he was a member of the Vancouver Canucks.
“You definitely learn from your mistakes. Like I said, obviously not the outcome that I wanted, and I own that,” DiPietro said. “I just have to be better and continue to work and try my best.”
Ottawa’s wait for its season opener — the longest of any NHL team — was worth it after a 3-2 win over the host Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday.
However, top defenseman Jake Sanderson played only 4:29 before exiting with a nagging lower-body injury, and there was no update on his status following the game. The Senators were already starting the season without defenseman Artem Zub (knee).
“We’ll know more in the next few days, but Sandy was smart enough to pull himself early enough that he didn’t reaggravate it too badly,” Ottawa coach Travis Green said. “He just felt that it was coming and took himself out.”
Sanderson, who left a preseason game a week earlier with a different injury, smashed his stick in frustration upon returning to the bench.
“He’s going to put everything he can into it and he’ll be back in no time,” new Senators captain Thomas Chabot said of Sanderson.
Following Sanderson’s exit, the Senators had to rally from a 2-1 deficit, outshooting their archrivals 16-5 in the final frame and getting the game-winning goal from Stephen Halliday with 10:14 remaining.
Chabot had a goal and an assist while playing 27:06, Michael Amadio also scored and Claude Giroux dished out a pair of helpers. Former Bruin Linus Ullmark, who went on a 14-4-3 run late last season, made 27 saves to lift Ottawa to its third straight season-opening win under Green.
“I thought the third period was our best,” Chabot said. “We played exactly the way that we wanted to play. I’m just glad we got it done.”