(Photo Credit: Brian Fluharty/Imagn Images)

By: Tom Calautti | Follow me on Twitter/X @TCalauttis

Alex Lyon made 24 saves, and Alex Tuch scored the game-winner as the Buffalo Sabres prevailed over the Boston Bruins 3-1 in Game 3. For the third straight game, the Black and Gold took an early lead but couldn’t hold it and now trail in the series 2-1.

The story going into game 3 was which head coach, Lindy Ruff, would start in goal following two less-than-perfect outings from netminder Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. In the end, Lyon got the start and played a major role in Buffalo grabbing the series lead.

“He played good, but I don’t think (Lyon) was the issue,” said head coach Marco Sturm of Lyon’s performance. “First of all, they were a little bit better than us…I thought we were a little tight right from the start. I could see a little bit on the power play, too.”

“So, yeah, no, but we were still in the game, and we were fine. But just those little mistakes, you know, cost us the second goal there…we didn’t play the way we did (in) Game 1 and Game 2.”

Lyon made his impact felt a little less than halfway through the first period when the Sabres were assessed back-to-back minors less than three minutes apart. The 33-year-old made three or four grade-A saves on the man-advantage to keep the game knotted at zero.

Despite the goaltender’s strong play, the Bruins were still able to grab the lead for the third time in three straight games. Tanner Jeannot lugged a puck into the zone and ripped a wrister from the top of the left circle that beat Lyon short-side and gave Boston the 1-0 lead.

The Bruins had a golden opportunity to double their lead at the midway point of the second period. Mattias Samuelsson attempted to skate a puck out of his own zone when his stick broke, giving Viktor Arvidsson a clear path to the net. Fellow Swede Rasmus Dahlin tripped him up, and the officials awarded Arvidsson a penalty shot. He tried to beat Lyon with a quick wrister, but the goaltender was wise to the challenge, and the score remained 1-0.

“Yes, it was a big swing, absolutely. Now looking back, it cost us a few big minutes there, especially before the period ended,” said Sturm about the momentum shift following the missed attempt. “We were just, the bench was not the same, let’s put it that way.”

Just a little over a minute later, Buffalo’s Bowen Byram scored his second goal in as many games to tie the score at one. Byram flicked a one-timer on net from just inside the right circle that deflected off of James Hagens and beat Swayman.

For the first time, all series, both teams went into the third period tied. That didn’t last long, though; the Sabres would take the lead for good a little over four minutes into the period. Alex Tuch put a brutal reverse hit on Mason Lohrei to start his shift, and ended up tallying the game-winner just moments later.

Following Tuch’s goal, the Bruins had two power play opportunities less than three minutes apart. They still couldn’t solve Lyon, and would eventually surrender an empty-net goal and drop the contest 3-1.

“You know, we had big opportunities on the power play. I think we got two power plays in (the) last six, seven minutes, you know, so we have to bury one of those,” said David Pastrnak following the game. “And, you know, it’s on us guys on the power play to be better. And, you know, the goalie played well, but we have to make it a little harder on him as well. So like I said, we knew it was going to be a tight series. So gonna just prepare for Sunday.”

Boston will get a rare two-day break between Games 3 and 4 before returning to TD Garden on Sunday. The team will need to find a new gear and a way to beat Alex Lyon if they want to even the series.

Game Notes:

  • Noah Ostlund made his appearance in the series for Buffalo. He made an immediate impact, assisting on the Byram goal and potting the empty-netter.
  • One of the few highlights for Boston last night was their penalty kill. They are still perfect in the series and went an impressive five-for-five in Game 3.
  • Jeannot’s goal was his first career playoff goal.
  • With two tallies in the final frame, Buffalo’s third period goal differential now sits at 8-2 in the series.