The Buffalo Sabres and the Boston Bruins have traded blows so far this series. With the 3-1 final score, Buffalo now leads the best-of-seven Eastern Conference First-Round Stanley Cup Playoff series two-games-to-one. There has been a ton of physicality in this series. Double digit roughing minors through three games and more hits than shots. These two teams shared a fierce playoff rivalry in the ’80s and ’90s, and it’s back, baby.
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Both teams are eager to establish themselves as the heavyweights in this one. 11 roughing penalties in Game 2 alone. In addition, it was a 15-year high in hits in a game for the Sabres with 53 in Game 1. Hits in Game 3 of the series, was 38 to 35 for the Sabres. These two teams clearly don’t like each other.
Buffalo Sabres vs Boston Bruins Mid-Series Recap
The Sabres have taken a 2-1 series lead on the road. With a third period Alex Tuch game-winning goal. They will play one more game in Boston, Massachusetts on Sunday before returning to Western New York for Game 5.
The Goaltending
Jeremy Swayman has been fantastic for the Bruins. Starting all three games in net so far. Swayman has faced 101 shots, and stopped all but seven of them. There’s not much more the Bruins can ask for him to contribute to this team winning games. He likely will never see the bench in this series. It’d be a shock if the Sabres could run him out of the crease, or if head coach Marco Sturm turned away from him.
The Sabres have made a change in net this series. With Alex Lyon getting the start over Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. Luukkonen was fine in Game 1, stopping 17 of Boston’s 20 shots. But things really fell apart in Game 2. Luukkonen allowed four goals on 20 shots, and allowed Morgan Geekie to score on a backhand flick from centre ice.
Lyon looked good in Game 3 on the road. In Game 3, he stopped 24 of 25 in the first road game for the Sabres in this series. The Sabres will have to decide who they want to go with in the coming days. But, you have to imagine Lyon made a strong statement in Game 3 with his performance, especially on the penalty kill.
Power Play Struggles
The Sabres can’t buy one. They are currently riding a 0/13 streak against the Bruins. They just can’t seem to get anything going in that regard. At times they’ll find their chances, but those are few and far between. If they want to be competitive in this series, you’d expect they would need to find a power play goal, right?
The Bruins have capitalized, but their power play, has not been ideal either. Just two power play goals on 12 opportunities so far. They had two opportunities in Game 3 late in the third period to tie the game and came up short. They had their chances, but mainly Lyon slammed the door on them.
Boston clearly has the edge in the special teams department. The Sabres will look to battle past the penalty kill of the Bruins.
Depth Chart
For how heavy of a series this has been, there’s not a significant number of injuries. Joshua Norris is the only player to leave this series so far. He did not play in Game 3, and is considered “day-to-day” per Lindy Ruff. The void on the second line has been filled by Noah Ostlund. He hasn’t played due to injury so far in the playoffs, but he’s already making a difference in the lineup. Ostlund picked up a primary assist on Bowen Byram‘s goal in Game 3. As well as scoring the empty netter to make it 3-1.
The Most Dangerous Man
The Bruins and the Sabres have individuals that are taking over games. David Pastrnak leads the team with five points in three games so far. And Tage Thompson had three points to steal Game 1 at home. Both players carry a heavy load for their teams, and so far Pastrnak has the edge. Both men were held quiet in Game 3, and will look to change that from here on out.
This series has been a lot of fun for a fanbase in Buffalo that hasn’t seen playoff hockey in 15 years. It’s brought back some emotion from generations in the past, and both teams are competing like it’s Game 7 every night. Boston will look to even the series at home on Sunday.
Main Photo Credit: Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images
