Minten Has Three Points as Bruins Cruise Past the Flyers, 5-1

By Soapz · Oct 10, 2026

Saturday afternoon hockey at the Garden is a special thing, B's fans, and the Bruins gave the matinee crowd plenty to cheer about. Fraser Minten had a goal and two assists, Marat Khusnutdinov scored his first of the season, five different Bruins found the back of the net and Boston dominated the Philadelphia Flyers 5-1. The Bruins improve to 4-2-0 and have now won two straight.

This one was never really in doubt. The Bruins outshot Philadelphia 32-15, controlled the puck for most of the afternoon and got contributions from all over the lineup. It was the kind of game where you could sit back, relax and just enjoy watching your team play well. Let's walk through it.

First period: Pav gets it going

The Bruins controlled the first period from the start, but it took them a while to break through against Dan Vladar. Pavel Zacha took a tripping penalty at 9:24, and the penalty kill handled it easily. Then at 12:21, Pastrnak made a nice play to find Zacha, and Pav beat Vladar with a wrist shot for his first goal of the season. 1-0.

That was it for the scoring in the first, but the Bruins were in control. They were winning battles, getting pucks to the net and keeping the Flyers to the outside. Swayman barely had to make a save.

Second period: Lohrei doubles it

The second period was more of the same. Noel Acciari went off for holding Pastrnak's stick at 6:55, but the Bruins couldn't convert. Still, they kept pushing, and at 17:12, Peterka and Minten worked the puck to Lohrei, who snapped a wrist shot past Vladar for his second goal of the season. 2-0. That assist was Peterka's 200th career NHL point, a nice milestone for a guy who's fit right in since arriving in Boston.

Late in the period, Connor Clifton put the puck over the glass and Tyson Foerster took a high-sticking penalty on Nikita Zadorov, but neither team scored. After two, the Bruins had a 2-0 lead and the Flyers had barely threatened.

Third period: the floodgates open

The third period was where the Bruins really took over. Just 1:55 in, Minten made a great play behind the net and found Khusnutdinov right in front, and Marat buried a wrist shot for his first goal of the season. 3-0. Will Borgen picked up the second assist. Khusnutdinov has been doing so much for this team in his middle-six role, and it was great to see him rewarded on the scoresheet.

Borgen took a tripping penalty at 6:16, and Porter Martone scored on the power play 16 seconds later to spoil the shutout, with David Jiricek and Denver Barkey on the assists. But the Bruins answered quickly. At 9:21, Elias Lindholm made a great centering pass to Casey Mittelstadt, who redirected it home for his second goal of the season. James Hagens got the second assist. 4-1.

Then at 15:59, Minten capped it off. Peterka sent him in, and Minten tucked home a wrist shot for his second goal of the year. 5-1. That gave him three points on the afternoon, and he was the easy choice for first star. Late in the game, Minten and Martone got tangled up and both picked up misconducts, but by then the result was long decided.

The kid line was dominant

Let's talk about the line of Khusnutdinov, Minten and Peterka, because they were outstanding all afternoon. Between them, they had two goals and five assists, and all three finished plus-3. They were the three stars of the game, with Minten first, Khusnutdinov second and Peterka third. When those three are on the ice together, they're fast, they're smart and they're always around the puck.

Minten in particular has been a revelation so far this season. He's playing with confidence, he's making plays and he's scoring big goals. He's still young, but he's playing like a guy who belongs.

Sway had an easy day

Swayman faced just 15 shots and stopped 14 of them, with the only goal coming on a power play. He didn't have to do much, but he was sharp when he needed to be. After a heavy workload against Utah, a quiet afternoon was probably exactly what he needed.

Depth everywhere

Five different goal scorers is a sign of a deep team, and the Bruins have that this year. Zacha, Lohrei, Khusnutdinov, Mittelstadt and Minten all scored, and the assists came from all over the lineup too. Hagens, Pastrnak and Zadorov tied for the team lead with four shots on goal each. Clifton and Zadorov both played over 22 minutes on the back end.

Soapz's report card

Fraser Minten: A+. A goal, two assists, plus-3 and the first star. He was the best player on the ice by a wide margin, and he's turning into one of the best stories of the young season.

Marat Khusnutdinov: A. His first goal of the season and the second star. He's been doing the little things right all year, and it was great to see him get rewarded.

JJ Peterka: A. Two assists, including his 200th career NHL point, and the third star. He and Minten have real chemistry.

Mason Lohrei: A-. His second goal of the season, and he was moving the puck well all afternoon.

Pavel Zacha: B+. Opened the scoring and won half his faceoffs. A solid, all-around game.

Jeremy Swayman: B+. Only 15 shots to deal with, but he was sharp when he needed to be. Hard to grade a goalie who barely had to work.

Team defense: A. Holding any NHL team to 15 shots is impressive, and the Bruins made it look easy.

Why this one matters

Back-to-back blowout wins at home is exactly what this team needed after the slow stretch earlier in the week. The power play woke up against Utah, and the depth showed up against Philly. Now the Bruins head out on a long road trip with momentum, confidence and a lot of different players contributing. That's a great place to be in October.

It's also worth noticing how the Bruins won this one. They didn't need the power play, they didn't need a huge night from Pastrnak and they didn't need Swayman to steal it. They just played a smart, structured game, won their battles and let their depth do the work. That's a recipe that travels well, and they'll need it on the road.

And for the folks who made it to the Garden for an early puck drop on a Saturday, this was about as fun as a regular-season afternoon gets. Five goals, a dominant kid line and a Flyers team that never really got going. You could feel the building enjoying every shift in the third period, and by the time Minten scored the fifth, the crowd was already in weekend mode. Games like this are a reminder of why the matinee is one of the best traditions on the schedule.

Looking ahead: the road trip starts in San Jose

The Bruins head west next, opening their longest road trip of the season in San Jose on Tuesday. They'll also visit Anaheim, Los Angeles and Dallas on the trip, which will be a good test of this team's depth and consistency. Things to watch: Can the kid line keep it going? Does the power play stay hot? And can the Bruins build on this two-game winning streak?

Our takeaways

The kid line was the story. Minten, Khusnutdinov and Peterka were the three stars. Marat is on the board. His first goal of the season, and hopefully the first of many. This team is deep. Five different goal scorers. Total control. 32-15 in shots, and it felt even more lopsided than that.

That's 4-2-0, B's fans. On to California! 🐻

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