Game 43: Bruins vs. Sabres Preview

The Black-and-Gold return to action Wednesday night against the Buffalo Sabres. It will be the B’s first game back following the horrific Marathon bombing Monday afternoon. Their tilt against Ottawa was postponed and rescheduled in wake of the tragic events. Following practice Tuesday morning, the Bruins pledged to “play their hearts out” for a city in need of emotional relief.

Boston (26-11-4) will play host to Buffalo (18-19-6) in what will be the fifth and final meeting between the two clubs this year. The Bruins will be looking to win the season series. Each team has won two games a piece.

The B’s hope to snap a two game skid and will be getting some help in doing so. Patrice Bergeron, Boston’s heart and soul, is set for a return to action. Bergeron had sat out the prior six games with a mild concussion. His presence in the lineup will certainly help to solidify a group that has shown its fair share of inconsistencies in his absence. Brad Marchand will make his return as well. It is clear what his talents bring and mean to the team.

Buffalo comes into Boston having won three of their last five contests. A strong showing thus far in the month of April has the Sabres sitting only four points back of the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Clinging to postseason hopes, the Sabres face a must win situation in this one.

Expect veteran leaders Thomas Vanek, Steve Ott, and Ryan Miller to have their guys ready go. The Sabres will be skating with great desperation and intensity. Buffalo has a “nothing to lose” attitude and is fully aware the fate of their season hinges on every play. 

As for the Bruins, finding their stride with the playoffs rapidly approaching, is at the forefront of the to do list. Jaromir Jagr, Gregory Campell, and Tyler Seguin have been three of Boston’s hottest players. Each has stepped up their production in significant fashion with Bergeron and Marchand being out. Anton Khudobin is likely to the get the start in goal for the B’s. Anton is 2-1 against the Sabres this season. His last time out, Khudobin blanked Buffalo 2-0 at the First Niagara Center.

Emerging as victors at TD Garden would be an immense lift for the thousands affected by the recent despicable acts. The city of Boston is more than deserving of another Stanley Cup. In speaking to the media following today’s morning skate, Claude Julien said, “it’s all the same goal, to win the Stanley Cup.” The Bruins are getting healthy at the right time and the addition of Carl Soderberg makes the B’s a very deep, multi-faceted, dangerously versatile group.

All great runs begin somewhere and what better night to get it all started than tonight against a hated divisional rival. Boston will clinch their highly elusive postseason birth with a win. Soderberg did practice with the team Wednesday. He will wear #34 and it’s not yet clear if the Swedish newcomer will start. Andrew Ference will get a scheduled night of rest and Wade Redden will make his Bruins debut.

According to today’s morning skate, the Boston lineup projects as follows:

Campell-Krejci-Jagr

Marchand-Bergeron-Seguin

Paille-Kelly-Horton

Lucic-Peverley-Thornton

Chara-Boychuk

Seidenberg-Hamilton

McQuaid-Redden

Khudobin/Rask

Bruins strike late and defeat Buffalo, 2-0

The Boston Bruins once again came out of the gate awfully lackadaisical. After two periods of sloppy hockey, the B’s kicked it into gear and defeated the Buffalo Sabres, 2-0. In a game of ups and downs, Boston got tremendous goaltending from Anton Khudobin and a hard-nosed, workmen like offensive effort from the Lucic-Krejci-Horton line.  The Boston defense bent at times but played with the kind of conviction needed to secure 2 points.

Boston improved to 22-8-4, bringing themselves within one point of the idle Canadiens, while cushioning their lead on the Leafs and Sens. This was a must win game for Boston, but the fashion in which things unfolded early on hinted otherwise. Buffalo recognized the B’s sluggish start and made life difficult in the opening two periods.

Buffalo outskated the Bruins for the majority of the opening 40 minutes. Boston committed 4 penalties that resulted in Sabres power plays. The penalty kill rose to the occasion, bailing out a Bruins offense that was pretty much nonexistent for much of this one.

Fortunately for the B’s it was Anton Khudobin who stole this game. Dobby was all over the place making one gigantic save after the next. The Boston net minder turned away all 26 shots he faced. In victory, Anton Khudobin improved to 7-3 this season and recorded his first shutout as Bruin.

Mostly settling for point shots in the first and second periods, the Bruins looked vulnerable and susceptible to another loss. Boston’s forwards were not getting the puck in deep and the Sabres controlled the dirty areas. The Bruins game is predicated on a blue-collar style that encompasses crashing their opponent’s goal. This all would change as the third period got going.

Many times we have seen the Bruins outshoot the opposition and loss this season. Milan Lucic, David Krejci, and Nathan Horton made sure this was not going to be the case. Led by their top line in the third, the B’s ramped up their fore-check, got pucks in behind the Buffalo defense, and began to generate scoring chances in high percentage areas.

 At 12:54 of the final frame, David Krejci scored what proved to be the game-winning tally. Matt Bartkowski snapped a pass to Nathan Horton in the slot. He then shoveled the puck off Ryan Miller, producing a rebound goal for Krejci. Minutes later it was Krejci and Horton hooking up again. Milan Lucic lugged the puck into Buffalo’s end along the nearside wall and dropped a well-timed pass back to a trailing Krejci. He quickly backhanded a pass through the paint past the Sabres defense to Nathan Horton who buried an insurance marker.

Despite winning 2-0, the Bruins committed a great deal of mistakes. Regardless, mistakes or no mistakes, Boston showed its killer instinct in closing out the Sabres when push came to shove. The slow starts certainly need to be addressed, but taking care of business when winning time comes is what counts. Boston’s much maligned top line picked a perfect time to snap out of a recent funk. Scoring twice in 3 minutes to secure the win should alleviate some of the criticism they have been battered with.

The Senators will be in Boston Tuesday night to take on the Bruins. Without a doubt the B’s will have plenty to work on Monday in practice. Claude Julien must find a way to get all four lines rolling in order to produce a higher goal output and more power play chances. Kasper Daugavins will likely be in the lineup come game time and should help get a hobbling offense back on the right path.  

Game 34: Bruins-Sabres quick thoughts

The Bruins will begin tonight's matchup trailing Montreal by 3 points in the Northeast. Beating the Sabres is a must if Boston hopes to remain ahead of a Toronto and Ottawa. The Leafs and Sens are hot on the B's heels with 44 points a piece, while Boston is clinging to the second spot with 46 points.

This meeting will mark the fourth of five scheduled contests between the two sides. Buffalo has won two of three against the B's already this season. The Sabres have matched the Bruins physicality and have made things quite difficult on the Black-and-Gold.

Boston is 4-5-1 in its last ten. Buffalo is 4-3-3.

The Bruins have been digging themselves early holes of late and that is a trend that needs to be halted immediately. Nathan Horton has two goals in his last two games. Aside from him, the team has shown little to no life for upwards of two weeks now.

Look for the Bruins to bounce back and stop the bleeding. If not heads may roll in Beantown.