With the long western road trip behind them, the Boston Bruins (18-13-4) entered Saturday’s (Dec. 21) game against divisional foe Buffalo Sabres (11-19-4) winners in six of their last 10, looking to rebound after a disappointing overtime loss to the Edmonton Oilers earlier in the week. The Sabres, on the other hand, were looking to end a 12-game winless skid, having not won a game since Thanksgiving.
The opening period was a closely contested one, but not in a tightly-matched way. Both teams were struggling to make clean passes, especially on breakouts, and with the puck bouncing everywhere, it made for a very sloppy first 20 minutes of hockey. There was a goal scored, however, as Charlie Coyle (eighth goal of the season) broke free on a breakaway as he left the penalty box, made an in-tight deke in front of goaltender James Reimer before banging home a second-chance opportunity while seated to put Boston ahead 1-0.
Buffalo was not just sitting back and accepting another loss, though, as they played much better in the second period, outshooting the Bruins 9-5 in the middle frame. Boston improved on the two penalties they took in the first period with only a single penalty taken in the second. Unfortunately for Boston, the Sabres capitalized on this one as they tied the game at one apiece with a power play goal by JJ Peterka (10th goal of the season). Bruins goalie Joonas Korpisalo got some of the puck, but the seeing-eye shot managed to squeak through the Finnish netminder to get Buffalo on the scoreboard.
In what was a dumbed-down effort of hockey through the first 40 minutes, the Bruins improved slightly in the final regulation period. Less than halfway in, Morgan Geekie buried what would have been his seventh goal of the season, but David Pastrnak was severely offside, a massive blunder that after review, caused the goal to be taken back, bringing the game back to a 1-1 tie with just under 13 minutes remaining.
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In the final few minutes of the game, Sabres’ Sam Lafferty was called on the period’s first penalty, giving Boston a prime chance to take a late lead, which is exactly what they did. Following his overturned goal, Geekie would get a perfect chance on a one-timer blast from a Pastrnak feed while in motion to beat Reimer and give Boston the 2-1 lead with less than two minutes to go. Geekie’s seventh goal was assisted by Pastrnak and Mason Lohrei. Brad Marchand continued his nine-game point streak with the empty netter to put the nail in the coffin, giving Boston a 3-1 win.
Korpisalo was excellent in this one, stopping 19 of the 20 shots he faced, playing a key role in Boston being able to walk away with two points. At the other end of the ice, Reimer didn’t face as much action but still saved 16 shots on the 18 he faced, giving Buffalo a chance.
Buffalo is now winless in 13 consecutive games, finding themselves in the basement of the NHL league standings, below the Chicago Blackhawks. The Sabres have one game left before the Christmas break, a matchup on Long Island against the New York Islanders on Monday (Dec. 23). Boston’s schedule looks similar, as their final game before the break also goes down on Monday as they host the second-best team in the Eastern Conference, the Washington Capitals.
