We have a long way to go in this 2025-26 hockey season, but here’s a sentence most people didn’t expect to hear, even at this stage of the year.

Say hello to your first-place Boston Bruins.

The B’s scored a gut-check 3-2 victory over the Montreal Canadiens at the Bell Centre on Saturday night after losing Charlie McAvoy to a scary shot to the face in the second period and then Viktor Arvidsson late in the game.

In a game that was worthy of the ancient rivalry, the B’s took a 3-2 lead into the third period and were able to hang on for the win behind Jeremy Swayman’s 28 saves.

The B’s got goals from Marat Khusnutdinov, Mason Lohrei and Arvidsson and did a tremendous job on the penalty kill. They took seven minors and had to kill off two lengthy 5-on-3s in the game but managed to nail dow

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