Just two nights after completing a 2-2-1 Western Conference trip, the Boston Bruins return to the comforts of home for the first time in two weeks to battle the free-falling Buffalo Sabres on Saturday.
The time away started poorly for Boston with blowout losses in Winnipeg and Seattle last week, but interim head coach Joe Sacco’s team responded with an all-around effort in a victory at Vancouver before coming back to beat Calgary in overtime.
Although the Edmonton Oilers rallied for a 3-2 overtime win on Thursday to spoil the Bruins’ quest for three straight, Sacco believes that the trip was a positive step for the continued growth of the team.
“Well, I sure think it is (a sign of resilience),” Sacco said. “The way we responded after being down two, you have to admire the fact that the group pulled together, and they really dug in there (to take five points out of) those last three games.”
There have been positives on an individual level as well, including captain Brad Marchand extending his longest point streak since 2020-21 to eight games, and Morgan Geekie and Marc McLaughlin each scoring in back-to-back contests before Thursday.
Jeremy Swayman continued to build confidence in his play as a first-year true No. 1 goaltender, looking solid while starting four of the past five (2-1-1).
“It shows what kind of team we have, and the belief, the leadership group is a core part of it,” Swayman said. “We didn’t take no for an answer, and that’s really good to see at this point in the year. … It’s one game at a time and I’m just really proud of the group and the way that we responded.”
Now mired in the NHL’s longest winless streak this season at 12 games (0-9-3), Buffalo visits Boston to complete a back-to-back following a 6-3 home loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Friday.
It was the Sabres’ second straight lopsided game, as Buffalo fell 6-1 to the host Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday. Part of the problem is a power play that has scored just twice (on 37 chances) in the past 14 contests.
The Maple Leafs scored two first-period goals before forcing Sabres coach Lindy Ruff to replace goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen with James Reimer in the midst of a three-goal second. From there, it was a tough mountain to climb for a team that has not tasted victory since Nov. 23.
“There’s a lot of pride in this group and nobody wants to lose this many in a row,” Buffalo defenseman Mattias Samuelsson said. “So, we just tried to dig ourselves out of it. We had two (goals) disallowed and came up a little short.”
JJ Peterka, who matched Samuelsson and Owen Power with a goal and an assist against Toronto, has been a bright spot of late for the Sabres, recording five points in his past three games.
While forward Jordan Greenway (mid-body injury) is expected to miss “a significant amount of time” after undergoing surgery, Buffalo did get a Friday boost from defenseman Rasmus Dahlin. The team captain returned after missing seven games due to back spasms.
“I think any time you get a player of his caliber back, it’ll be a big boost to the team,” Ruff said before the Friday game. “First, getting pucks out of your end, the speed going back for pucks, and then he’s a difference-maker with big plays.”
Forward Sam Lafferty (lower body) also returned for the Sabres after he was sidelined for nine games.
–Field Level Media
