BOSTON — Jeff Skinner tucked the winning goal past Tuukka Rask with 3:13 remaining for his second score of the night, and the Buffalo Sabres beat the Boston Bruins 4-2 on Sunday.
Skinner’s team-leading 24th goal came off a feed behind the net from Jack Eichel, who had two goals and two assists in his return to Boston. Eichel grew up in nearby North Chelmsford and starred at Boston University.
Eichel added an empty-net goal with 24.2 seconds left. Linus Ullmark had 35 saves for the Sabres (20-9-5), who had lost six of eight.
Buffalo Sabres center Jack Eichel (Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports)
Steven Kampfer and Torey Krug scored and Rask made 23 saves for Boston (17-12-4).
Eichel drew cheers from some hometown fans after his wrist shot beat Rask to give Buffalo a 2-1 lead with 14:17 remaining.
Krug tied it with 6:49 to play, scoring his third goal in five games off David Krejci’s pass through the slot.
Moments after Ullmark’s diving glove save on Ryan Donato astonished the TD Garden crowd, Skinner scored with 16:42 left in the second period off Eichel’s pass from behind the net.
The Bruins tied the game exactly 2 minutes later after Joakim Nordstrom wrapped around the Sabres’ net and fed a charging Kampfer for his first goal since rejoining the Bruins in an off-season trade.
Brad Marchand appeared to give Boston a go-ahead goal with 8:02 left in the second after poking the puck past Ullmark during a scrum, but the refs had blown the whistle and deemed it a non-reviewable play.
Linus Ullmark (Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports)
Donato drew a penalty shot with 3:29 left in the opening period after Matt Hunwick tripped him on a breakaway. On the penalty try, Donato slipped and jammed the puck against Ullmark’s pad.
NOTES: Eichel and Skinner both extended their points streaks to six games. … Donato’s penalty shot was the first of his career and Boston’s first since Tim Schaller’s unsuccessful attempt last Dec. 18 vs. Columbus. Ullmark had never faced a penalty shot. … Bruins C Patrice Bergeron (rib), D Zdeno Chara (lower body) and D Kevan Miller (larynx) participated in Sunday’s morning skate. Bergeron could rejoin the team for practice as soon as Wednesday, coach Bruce Cassidy said. … Hunwick made his Sabres debut after missing the first 29 games of the season recovering from a neck injury. Hunwick spent his first three-plus NHL seasons with the Bruins.
UP NEXT
Sabres: Host Florida on Tuesday night.
Bruins: Visit rival Montreal on Monday night.
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Gethin Coolbaugh, The Associated Press
