Score – BUF: 5 BOS: 4 (OT)
Shots – BUF: 42 BOS: 31
PP – BUF: 0/2 BOS: 1/3
Hits – BUF: 31 BOS: 34
P1:
Pastrnak from Schaller and McAvoy
Marchand unassisted
The Sabres had a decent start to the first period, Kane Bailey and Eichel were flying and generated some good chances. Okposo also seemed to have his legs back in the first skating hard and doing everything he can to help the team.
However the Sabres made mental mistakes again and collapsed midway through the period. Pastrnak skated through the neutral zone found Schaller at the side of the net who through the puck at Lehner. No one picked up Pastrnak who skated to the crease and poked a loose puck past Lehner’s skate. A goal that Lehner and the Sabres both wanted back.
After a Matt Tennyson interference penalty (why Tennyson is playing I’m still confused) the Bruins capitalized immediately off the faceoff. The puck bounced off Pouliot and then Scandella right on to Marchand’s stick in the slot who made a move and beat Lehner. This was a flukey goal but it summed up the Sabres season nicely because it just looked ugly.
P2:
Marchand from Bjork and McAvoy
Pominville (5) from O’Reilly (4)
Pastrnak from Nash and Krug
Eichel (4) from Scandella (2) and Bailey (1)
Another slow start to a second period for the Sabres as Marchand ripped one past a screened Lehner off a nice pass from Bjork. This team always seems to struggle at the start of periods and especially the second.
Pominville, Pouliot and O’Reilly battled hard and kept the Bruins deep in their zone before Pominville was able to corral a loose puck and rip a shot off of the post and past Khudobin for his 5th of the year.
Again the Sabres shot themselves in the foot with mental mistake, sloppy play in the neutral zone allowed the Bruins to rush in untouched and Pastrnak scores after shooting the puck off Tennyson’s (yes he was on the ice for a goal against…again) foot.
The Sabres picked the pace up at the end of the second and started to dictate play, Eichel sent a great pass from behind the B’s net to Scandella who walked the line and threw the puck towards the net. Eichel was on the door step and buried a rebound into the back of the net for his 4th of the year.
After Eichel’s goal the Sabres continued to put the pressure on the Bruins and looked a lot better, O’Reilly had a golden chance but couldn’t capitalize on it keeping the score 4-2 at the end of the second.
P3:
Pouliot (1) from Reinhart (1) and McCabe (1)
Kane (6) from McCabe (2) and Pominville (6)
The third period started out much in Buffalo’s favor, they were skating harder and showed the effort that they showed at the end of the second period. Khudobin looked shaky and was constantly looking behind him with each shot the Sabres fired on net.
A bouncing puck found its way to the slot and Benoit Pouliot picked up the puck and fired his first of the season and as a Sabre past Khudobin.
The third period domination continued for the Sabres and Okposo managed to draw a penalty. After the abysmal powerplay the Sabres continued pressure and Evander Kane snuck a weake one through Khudobin to tie the game at 4.
OT:
O’Reilly (3)
Overtime was dominated by the Sabres, minus a 2-on-1 scare the Sabres were hounding the puck and dominated possession. Eventually the puck was picked up by O’Reilly behind the net and he took it to the front of the net and backhanded it past Khudobin.
The Sabres best players were their best players on the ice tonight and the team showed no quit. They battled back and earned a massive two points in a game that they actually showed that they can be a good team. There was a lot of back and forth but the Sabres came out on top and can use this game for a momentum swing.
@SabresFanatics @austin_broad
