By: Ryan Bosworth | Follow me on Twitter / X @RyanJBosworth
Earlier this evening, the Boston Bruins squared off against the Buffalo Sabres in their second home game of the 2025-26 season. The Bruins were looking to improve to 3-0-0 on the season, while Buffalo was trying to improve to 1-1-0 after dropping their season opener.
The game was an overall very strong outing from the Bruins, despite almost allowing Buffalo back in with 10 minutes remaining in the third period, they were able to seal the deal with an empty net goal from Sean Kuraly to shut the door, winning 3-1 and improving to 3-0-0 to start the season.
Bruins held the edge in shots, outshooting Buffalo 31-23. Jeremy Swayman was strong, despite being untested until the second period, stopping 22 of 23 shots, and improving to 2-0 on the season.
First Period
The Bruins opened the game with their strongest period of the 2025-26 campaign. Every aspect of the Bruins’ game was dominant, and despite being untested, Swayman was strong to start the game. The Bruins outshot the Sabres 17-2 through the first period, and didn’t allow them to generate any offense.
The Bruins got on the board to make it a 1-0 game thanks to a goal from Pavel Zacha, who was set up by Haverhill, Massachusetts-native Jordan Harris, who made his Bruins debut this evening. The goal from Zacha was his first of the 2025-26 campaign.
Harris was a bright spot in the first period once he settled in after his first shift. He was positionally sound, pinched at the right times, moved the puck well, and got pucks on net. His first point as a Bruins was the pass that set up the Zacha goal.
The game could’ve easily had a much bigger gap, but Alex Lyon was sharp, shutting down the vast majority of chances from the Bruins, who put up a fair amount, especially David Pastrnak. Every one of the Bruins’ lines were noticeable for the right reasons through the first, as well.
Second Period
While this period wasn’t as dominant as the first for Boston, they were able to add to their lead and keep Buffalo at bay, despite being outshot 13-9. There were certainly more special teams action in the second period, as Boston had six minutes of penalty time and Buffalo had four.
The Bruins were able to add to their lead thanks to a goal from Mark Kastelic, which just squeaked in passed Alex Lyon. It was certainly an interesting goal, but the Bruins have been getting pucks on net, regardless of the quality of the shot at times, and it paid off for Kastelic.
Boston’s penalty kill unit was perfect throughout the game, and were even able to turn some of it into offense, thanks to nifty plays from the likes of Fraser Minten and Mark Kastelic. There’s certainly a more aggressive approach to the penalty kill, and it was on display tonight. The Bruins weren’t sitting back – they were fighting for pucks and trying to create opportunities, despite being down a man.
The Bruins had their fourth power play attempt in this game, and were unable to connect on it, going 0/4 on the power play tonight. Despite not finding the back of the net, the power play is noticeably different compared to last year. There were several chances created by both power play units throughout all four opportunities. Swayman remained steady through the second period, only facing 15 shots, but stopping all 15 shots.
Third Period
The Bruins began the third period on the penalty kill, for about 55 seconds, and successfully killed it off. Jordan Harris, who was filling in for Hampus Lindholm, worked very well on the second pairing with Andrew Peeke, and it was very noticeable.
The Bruins were defensively sound tonight in all areas. They had good sticks and they didn’t allow Buffalo many chances, even through the third period. Jordan Harris was also very confident when he had the puck on his stick, and it was very noticeable in the third period.
David Pastrnak, who didn’t find himself on the scoresheet tonight, had what seemed like 15 chances to put the puck in the net, but just couldn’t get it all the way there. He had plenty of chances in the third period, which included a couple of breakaways where he was ultimately shut down by Alex Lyon.
Buffalo finally found the back of the net in the third period, thanks to a goal from Jason Zucker, who was able to beat Jeremy Swayman. The Bruins had just one minor penalty in the third period, which was killed off thanks to Mark Kastelic and Jordan Harris.
There was a late push from Buffalo, who had Alex Lyon on the bench and an extra attacker on the ice, but they were unable to knot things up at two apiece. The Bruins had several chances at an empty net goal, but Buffalo’s defensemen all took turns at playing goalie and held the Bruins off until Elias Lindholm and Sean Kuraly combined with 11.1 seconds left to seal the game at 3-1.
Final Thoughts
This was a very strong outing for the Boston Bruins. As the front office puts it, scoring by committee is very important, and the Bruins were able to do that tonight. Goals from Pavel Zacha, Mark Kastelic, and Sean Kuraly helped the Bruins best the Sabres 3-1.
Jeremy Swayman, stopping 22 of 23 shots, had another strong outing, building on his season opener and improving to 2-0-0 on the season. The Bruins are back in action Monday at 1 p.m., taking on the Tampa Bay Lighting at TD Garden.
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