WASHINGTON — The 2025-26 Boston Bruins will not be the most aesthetically pleasing hockey team we’ve ever seen. But if their brand can produce the kind of results we saw in the season opener in at Capital One Arena, they will no doubt be forgiven.

The B’s frustrated the Washington Capitals in the neutral zone, got good goaltending, won the special teams battle and walked out with the 3-1 victory. David Pastrnak had a goal and two assists and Jeremy Swayman made 33 saves for the win.

The B’s took a 1-0 lead into the third period, but Tom Wilson tied the game 7:03 of the third when he was left alone in the slot and he was able to finally beat Swayman.

The B’s, however, struck right back. After John Carlson went to the box for holding Morgan Geekie, the B’s cashed in on the power play. Pastrnak, who had the earlier goal, hit Elias Lindholm slashing through the slot. Lindholm went to his backhand and beat goalie Logan Thompson for the 2-1 lead.

Pastrnak then fed Morgan Geekie for the empty netter to seal it.

The Bruins looked very much as they were advertised in the first period. It was not a scintillating brand of hockey as they clogged up the neutral zone with their 1-2-2 defensive alignment, but they did it well in the scoreless opening 20 minutes.

One of Marco Sturm’s focuses in training camp was the penalty kill – and it’s a good thing. The B’s took three minor penalties in the first period, the last of which (a Henri Jokiharju crosscheck) bled over into the second period.

The Caps held an 8-4 shots-on-goal advantage but the B’s, who held a 16-13 total shot lead, had their chances, too. On their lone power play, Geekie took a cross-ice pass from Pastrnak and sailed it over the crossbar.

One of the best scoring chances for the Caps was actually when Hampus Lindholm whiffed on the puck at the top of his crease and directed back at the net, but Swayman was locked in enough to smother the dangerous puck.

The B’s lived far too dangerously at the start of the second period. With 55 seconds still left on Jokiharju’s penalty, Charlie McAvoy tripped Alex Ovechkin, giving the Caps a sizable 5-on-3.

The PK not only remained strong but it was also fortunate as the Caps just missed connecting on a couple of backdoor plays.

Both penalties were successfully killed off but the Caps carried the momentum to the first TV timeout. Swayman was sharp, at one point turning away a dangerous partial break from Nic Dowd.

Eventually, the B’s pushed back. Pavel Zacha sprung Viktor Arvidsson for a clean breakaway but Thompson closed up the five-hole in time.

The game picked up in action, and physicality. Wilson appeared to be hunting Mason Lohrei most of the night. One time after he blasted the Bruin defenseman, Mark Kastelic made a beeline for Wilson and locked up with him for a brief moment, but the Capital winger declined the offer.

The ice was finally broken by the B’s at 12:07 and, true to the blueprint, it was a greasy goal. Pastrnak took a Nikita Zadorov feed, circled out high in the zone and fired a shot that was deflected by a Cap out high. With Elias Lindholm battling at the top of the crease, the puck eluded Thompson and dropped in behind for the 1-0 Bruin lead.

The top line had another goo scoring chance when Pastrnak fed Geekie for a backdoor play but Geekie heeled his one-time attempt.

While the B’s won the period on the scoreboard, the Caps spent too much time in the B’s zone, outshooting the B’s 18-6 in the period.

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