Photo Courtesy Of The Boston Herald
By: Garrett Haydon | Follow Me On Twitter @thesportsguy97
Pre-Game Notes
Arena: TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Home: Boston Bruins (23-14-4)
Away: Buffalo Sabres (22-13-6)
Boston’s Lineup
Forwards
Marchand-Bergeron-Pastrnak
DeBrusk-Krejci-Backes
Heinen-Forsbacka Karlsson-Donato
Kuraly-Acciari-Wagner
Defense
Chara-Carlo
Krug-Moore
Grzelcyk-Miller
Goalies
Rask
Halak
Buffalo’s Lineup
Forwards
Skinner-Rodrigues-Reinhart
Sheary-Sobotka-Thompson
Elie-Mittelstadt-Pominville
Smith-Larsson-Okposo
Defense
McCabe-Ristolainen
Scandella-Dahlin
Pilut-Bogosian
Goalies
Ullmark
Hutton
First Period
On the first shift of the game, Chris Wagner appeared to give the Bruins the early lead but it was eventually waived off because of Sean Kuraly interfering with Sabres goaltender Linus Ullmark.
❓NO GOAL❔
Do you agree with the call here of goalie interference? #NHLBruins pic.twitter.com/cDRVy09qRS
— Boston Bruins on CLNS (@BruinsCLNS) January 6, 2019
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The Bruins looked engaged in the early going as they were able to string together some solid shifts. The Bruins would get a power play as Remi Elie took an interference penalty with 13:28 to play in the period. Buffalo would kill off the penalty as Boston failed to get any decent scoring chances. Wagner got another great scoring chance and capitalized to give the Bruins the lead.
Chris Wagner buries one after a Rasmus Dahlin turnover #NHLBruins lead 1-0 pic.twitter.com/Cqm83VZByl
— Marina Molnar (@mkmolnar) January 6, 2019
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The Sabres seemed to have trouble getting any significant scoring chances against Tuukka Rask as the Bruins defended well in their own zone. Towards the end of the period though, Buffalo started to find some attacking zone rhythm and pushed to tie the score.
The Bruins returned the favor with a solid shift by the fourth line who looked very strong in the opening period. Boston closed the period with a couple good shifts especially the third line as Ryan Donato nearly doubled the lead with under a minute to go in the period.
Score: 1-0 Bruins
Second Period
The Bruins opened the period with another strong shift by the fourth line and Wagner nearly had a second goal but was denied by Ullmark. David Backes buried a goal on a two on one rush with Brad Marchand to double the Boston advantage early in the period.
David Backes is BACK! What a snipe. 2-0 #NHLBruins pic.twitter.com/62COGuUQqb
— Marina Molnar (@mkmolnar) January 6, 2019
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The Bruins continued to have good jump in the early moments of the period as they strung together some strong shifts. The Bruins dominated the possession in the middle period as they seemed to get chance after chance in the offensive zone. Rask was rarely challenged in the first half of the period as the Sabres failed to get many pucks on net.
The Bruins began to become slightly lackadaisical in their own zone but it didn’t hurt them as Buffalo didn’t provide a lot of resistance. Rask became a bit more busy in the latter half of the period but continued to play very well between the pipes.
Score: 2-0 Bruins
Third Period
Donato had a couple decent chances in front of the Buffalo goal but couldn’t find the back of the net. Jeff Skinner followed that up with a quality scoring opportunity but Rask was quick to make the save. The third line had a solid start to the period and Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson nearly capitalized off a great feed from Danton Heinen but couldn’t beat Ullmark.
A few turnovers by the Bruins almost resulted in the Sabres finding the back of the net but Rask continued to have a strong game to keep it a two goal margin. Buffalo went to the man advantage as Matt Grzelcyk was called for hooking with about 12 minutes to play. Boston killed the penalty as the Sabres got a few chances but nothing significant.
The Bruins got another power play as Donato was tripped as they looked to put the game away. Buffalo killed off the penalty but the B’s has plenty of chances and put four shots on goal during the man advantage. Rasmus Ristolainen fired home a shot from the dot after a quick re-entry to cut the Boston lead in half with less than three minutes to go.
🚨GOAL🚨
The Bruins forwards get caught mid line change and Rasmus Ristolainen makes them pay
17:22 Ristolainen (5)- Unassisted#NHLBruins– 2#Sabres– 1 pic.twitter.com/J6cfihxsvO
— Boston Bruins on CLNS (@BruinsCLNS) January 6, 2019
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The Sabres pulled Ullmark with 1:40 to go as they pushed for the tying goal. They weren’t able to find the back of the net and the Bruins secured the victory, making it four straight for the first time since October.
Final Score: 2-1 Bruins
Three Stars Of The Game
First Star: Wagner. The winger could’ve easily had multiple goals in this one as he was buzzing around the ice all night as the fourth line had one of their best games of the season.
Second Star: Backes. The winger returned after a three game suspension and was put onto the second line. He responded with his fourth goal of the season on a beautiful shot.
Third Star: Rask. Although not challenged much in this game, Rask was good when needed and helped the B’s secure a huge win over the Sabres.
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