A pair of two-goal periods and a strong performance from both special teams units helped the visiting Boston Bruins cruise past the Buffalo Sabres 4-1 Wednesday night.
Charlie Coyle scored the first two of three consecutive power-play goals for the Bruins, who built an insurmountable 4-0 lead en route to snapping a four-game skid (0-2-2).
Mason Lohrei and Morgan Geekie bookended Boston’s scoring, while Jake DeBrusk and Brad Marchand each dished out two assists.
It was DeBrusk’s first multi-point effort this season.
Jeremy Swayman made 10 of his 25 saves in the second period, backstopping Boston’s 6-for-6 penalty kill.
Erik Johnson scored the lone goal for the Sabres, while Devon Levi stopped 21 shots. Buffalo has lost four of five (1-3-1).
Levi had been 4-0-1 in his previous five starts since being recalled from AHL Rochester.
Sabres star Tage Thompson was a late scratch (personal reasons).
Both teams were returning from the NHL’s three-day holiday break.
Boston’s first two shots on net resulted in the opening goal at the 4:19 mark. Lohrei joined the rush to follow up a James van Riemsdyk shot that created a juicy rebound into the slot.
The visitors made it 2-0 after killing off Marchand’s four minutes of cross-checking and unsportsmanlike conduct penalties earlier in the first. At 13:42, DeBrusk wheeled behind Levi’s net and slipped a perfect pass for Coyle to one-time in from close range.
The same duo connected for another power-play goal 4:18 into the second. After David Pastrnak cruised through center ice untouched, DeBrusk corralled an errant pass out of the right corner to Coyle, who banked the puck in off Johnson’s skate in front.
Minutes after Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy saved Dylan Cozens’ long shot off the goal line out of mid-air, Geekie increased the lead to 4-0 with the final man-up tally at 13:44. He dove in front to deflect the carom of McAvoy’s wide shot off an outstretched Levi.
Johnson broke Swayman’s shutout bid with 14:49 left in regulation, shooting from the top of the right circle after receiving a pass from fellow defenseman Owen Power at the points.
Levi kept the Sabres in it with breakaway saves on both Marchand and Pastrnak halfway through the third, but it was not enough. Rasmus Dahlin denied Coyle a hat trick with two blocks on attempts at an empty net in the waning minutes.
–Field Level Media
