Bruins open season 3-0 with stout defense and strong goaltending

BOSTON — The Boston Bruins opened the season with consecutive wins at TD Garden, beating the Chicago Blackhawks 4-3 in overtime on Thursday and the Buffalo Sabres 3-1 on Saturday, pushing their record to 3-0 and underscoring a defense- and goaltending-first start to the campaign.

Thursday’s home opener against Chicago was a back-and-forth affair that required overtime to settle. Fraser Minten scored 2:10 into the extra period to lift the Bruins, who also received goals from Casey Mittelstadt, Tanner Jeannot and Elias Lindholm. Boston took an early lead on a second-line tally by Mittelstadt 3:53 into the game, but the Blackhawks answered with Connor Bedard’s first goal of the season after a turnover by Nikita Zadorov. Chicago went ahead early in the second on a Louis Crevier shot, only for Jeannot to knot the game at 2-2. Lindholm gave Boston the lead 15 seconds into the third on a Viktor Arvidsson setup, and Andre Burakovsky tied it for Chicago two minutes later. Tempers flared late in the game, producing multiple roughing penalties, and the Bruins failed to convert on a power play in the closing minutes before Minten’s overtime winner.

The Blackhawks game left the Bruins with a...