Bruins coach Marco Sturm’s ‘exhausted’ admission after 1st NHL coaching win

Marco Sturm’s start to life as an NHL coach may not have gotten off to the most ideal start, but the Boston Bruins still won 3-1 against the Washington Capitals in their season-opener. The Bruins were under stern pressure from the Capitals throughout as Jeremy Swayman produced 35 saves to hold down the win.

Sturm, the first-ever German-born head coach to take the reins of an NHL team, had some big words for his team post-game.

“It feels great. I’m exhausted. It’s the moment I was waiting for and to grab a win on the road at a tough place like here, it’s even better. And on top of it, for the most part, they played exactly what we worked on, they played exactly how I wanted them to play,” he said, evidently delighted with his team, per NHL.com.

Sturm is the sixth-ever European coach in league history and the first-ever for the Bruins. He was brought in to replace interim head coach Joe Sacco after Jim Montgomery was fired back in November 2024.

Sturm’s coaching career took off in 2015 when he was appointed as the head coach and general manager of the German men’s national team. Under his leadership, Germany won the 2015 Deutschland Cup, reached the World Championship quarterfinals in both 2016 and 2017, and qualified for the 2018 Winter Olympics, where they went on to capture a historic silver medal.

The success eventually led to the NHL, where Sturm was initially appointed as an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Kings back in November 2018. He was then made the head coach of the Kings’ AHL affiliate, the Ontario Reign, ahead of the 2022-23 season.

Sturm’s teams rely on a strong defensive foundation and a rigid possession-based system. He was brought in after the Bruins missed the playoffs last year and will be delighted to start off on a winning note.

With head coaches in the first year at the helm of their respective teams, the Boston Bruins and Chicago Blackhawks figure to be building their games during the early stages of the season.

The Original Six rivals will take the second step of their respective 82-game journeys when they meet in Boston's home opener on Thursday night.

With a condensed NHL schedule due to the Olympic break in February, nights off will not be commonplace this season. The Bruins begin with the unique challenge of a back-to-back and four games in six days, but a 3-1 win at the Washington Capitals on Wednesday was a great start based on coach Marco Sturm's early-season expectations.

"I want to see growth. I want to see us come together," Sturm said earlier this week. "I'm not gonna say we've gotta make the playoffs or that we've gotta be in a playoff spot in November, this and that. I want my players to play that way ... and get that (Bruins) identity back."

There were definite signs of that identity right away, with the return of Charlie McAvoy (seven hits) and Hampus Lindholm from last season's injury absences helping to provide stability on defense.

Physical play from new Bruins forward Tanner Jeannot was evident, and the solid work of Jeremy Swayman (35 saves) and a perfect penalty kill (5-for-5) also fueled the victory.

"It's important for our group to take the momentum that we had from training camp and just continue it," Swayman said. "We had great bounce-back (after a tough second period); we stuck together. Those are good signs starting off the regular season. ... We have things to work on. It's good."

While depth scoring will be necessary for Boston going forward, David Pastrnak (one goal, two assists) and linemates Elias Lindholm and Morgan Geekie (one goal, one assist each) led the way on Wednesday.

Pastrnak began his quest for a fourth straight 100-point campaign and now has scored in four straight season openers.

"It's great that we got on the board. But it's game one. We have to keep working hard," Pastrnak said.

A Tuesday opener against the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers was a tall order for the Blackhawks, who entered the season with the second-youngest roster in the NHL by average age (26.6).

Chicago dropped a 3-2 decision but stayed in the game throughout despite Florida's dominant first and third periods. Coach Jeff Blashill wants his new team to learn and strive for a more consistent effort going forward.

"It is such an unforgiving league that you have to be on top of your game every night," Blashill said. "You're not going to be perfect, I get that, but you can't let the lows be so low. Certainly, there's some guys that need to take that lesson."

Frank Nazar (one goal, one assist) became the sixth Blackhawks player age 21 or younger in the past 40 years to record multiple points in a season opener. Linemates Teuvo Teravainen (one goal, one assist) and Tyler Bertuzzi (two assists) also had multi-point efforts.

Former Boston College goaltender Spencer Knight made 34 saves in his first game against his former team since joining the Blackhawks.

For now though, Chicago's focus has to be on the inside.

"It doesn't matter who you're playing, we've got to focus on us," Knight said. "We can't just show up when we're playing Cup champions. Every team's good in this league."