The Boston Bruins continued their hot start to the 2025-26 season with a 3-1 victory over the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday night.
While the sample size is small, and the Bruins still have plenty of hockey left to play, starting off the season with a three-game winning streak is definitely an excellent one for the Original Six franchise looking to return to the postseason after missing the playoffs for the first time in a decade last season.
Through the first three contests, the Bruins’ fourth line of Marat Khusnutdinov, Sean Kuraly and Mark Kastelic have made an impact in each of the club’s wins.
In Boston’s first two games of the season, the fourth line drew four penalties from their opponents giving the Bruins an opportunity on the man-advantage.
The fourth line was finally rewarded in Boston’s third game of the season — led by Mark Kastelic who recorded two points in the win.
Kastelic made two sparkling plays while killing a penalty early in the second after Fraser Minten was sitting in the box for tripping Tage Thompson. Kastelic used his stick in the passing lane to deflect the puck out of Boston’s end, and then stole the puck back with aggressive checking in the neutral zone. Driving up the ice, he landed a shot on net, and drew a penalty from Owen Power to set up the Bruins on a power play at 7:39.
His goal came 42 seconds after the power play expired. Looking to keep the puck in the offensive zone, Kastelic fired a 50-footer toward the net. The shot traveled through a crowd of bodies and sticks, deflecting off Connor Timmins and ultimately landing behind Lyon for the 2-0 lead.
Kastelic’s assist came on Kuraly’s empty-netter with 2.2 in regulation to secure the win.
“It always helps when you win. Guys are buying in,” Bruins head coach Marco Sturm told reporters, per team-provided audio. “It’s fun to be around those guys. They care. They buy in and they want to get better. Everyone is excited to play. Everyone works. We’re a family. That’s what a family does. We support each other.
“That’s the identity. That’s what we want to have. It’s fun playing that way. They all buy in. Today was a good example of how we want to play.”
Here are more notes from Boston’s win over the Sabres:
— Jeremy Swayman continued his strong start to the season, earning his second win. He made 21 saves and now has 56 saves in his two starts this season and has only allowed one goal in each of those contests.
— Pavel Zacha opened the scoring for the Bruins with his first goal of the season. The winger is now up to three points in the first three games for Boston.
— Haverhill native Jordan Harris made his debut for the Black and Gold, slotting in for the injured Hampus Lindholm. He recorded his first point with the primary assist on Zacha’s goal.
“Went down and just tried to keep it and realized no one was on me,” Harris said after the win, per the team. “Then I saw Pavs pop out, kind of like a power play, and he just wired it. I just tried to put it in a good spot for him and he wired it — great job.”
— The Bruins will look to extend their winning streak to four when they host the Tampa Bay Lightning in a Columbus Day matinee on Monday. Puck drop from TD Garden is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET on NESN and 98.5 The Sports Hub.
More Bruins: Bruins Notebook: Odds and Ends From Boston’s First Two Games
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