By: Liz Rizzo | Follow me on Twitter @pastagrl88
It was a night of secondary scoring as the Boston Bruins beat a struggling Buffalo Sabres team in their first meeting of the season. With the 4-1 victory the Sabres have now lost their 13th game in a row as the Bruins have won five out of their last 10 games. Boston is now 16-8-4 while Buffalo drops to 6-19-4.
GAME RECAP
The Bruins opened up the period with David Krejci having an early chance in the first few moments of the first period. Both teams had shots on the net however newcomer Greg McKegg would score his first goal as a Bruin, making it 1-0 Boston. Matt Grzelcyk was credited with the assist. The puck continued to bounce on both ends of the ice with the Bruins having another chance to score on a rebound. Buffalo attempted to answer back with a rebound shot of their own, however, Jaroslav Halak held on to the puck.
Boston continued to put pressure down the Sabres zone with multiple shot attempts. Bruins’ defense were able to clear the zone easily compared to previous games played. With minutes left to the period, Buffalo had some missed scoring chances as they looked to put the puck past Halak. In the last few seconds, the Sabres sent a few flurries of shots on Boston’s net but were unable to score. Lots of mishandling of the puck and sloppy skating from both sides was evident during an uninspired first period.
END OF FIRST PERIOD: BOS-1, BUF-0
SHOTS ON GOAL: BOS-11, BUF-7
Boston went to the power play early into the second period as Cody Eakin was called for hooking against Brad Marchand. Unfortunately, Buffalo’s Kyle Okposo scored a short-handed goal that was redirected, tying the game 1-1. It would be his first of the season. The Bruins would be on the man advantage as Matt Irwin was called for hi-sticking against Craig Smith. Within moments Jake DeBrusk would score his third goal of the season, making it 2-1 Boston. Both David Krejci and David Pastrnak were credited with the assist. With the assist, Krejci would hit his 700th career point, becoming the eighth player in Bruins history to reach that milestone.
Shortly after Buffalo was on the man advantage as Boston’s Oskar Steen was called for holding against Colin Miller. Panic down the Bruins end as Buffalo nearly netted a power-play goal. Marchand had a near goal as he hit the near post. The Bruins extended the lead 3-1 as Craig Smith bounced the puck past Carter Hutton with Connor Clifton getting the assist. A more solid effort from the Black and Gold in the second period.
END OF SECOND PERIOD: BOS-3, BUF-1
SHOTS ON GOAL: BOS-15, BUF-9
The third period opened up with a missed chance by the Bruins as they looked to extend their lead. Buffalo’s Victor Olofsson was called for holding against Karson Kuhlman giving the B’s another scoring chance. With 46 minutes left in the power play, the Sabres Brandon Montour got called for interference giving the Bruins a five-on-three man advantage. David Pastrnak slapped a one-timer power-play goal past Hutton making 4-1 Boston.
Buffalo had a near chance but the Bruins luckily were able to keep them at bay. The Sabres once again would be down a player as Eric Staal was called for holding against Charlie McAvoy. Buffalo had a potential breakaway however were unable to finish the play. With a little over a minute left in the final period, the Sabres would make one final push but could not garner any chances.
FINAL SCORE: BOS-4, BUF-1
TOTAL SHOTS ON GOAL: BOS-37, BUF-24
NEXT GAME: Saturday March 20th versus the Buffalo Sabres, with puck drop at 1:00 PM. NESN, MSG-B
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