BSJ Game Report: Sabres 5, Bruins 4 (OT)

Everything you need to know from the Bruins' loss to the Sabres on Saturday night at TD Garden.

HEADLINES

The masked man: It’s been an adventure for Anton Khudobin. Even when the Bruins had a 4-1 lead, there was a sense that a three-goal advantage wasn’t safe. The Sabres were shooting from everywhere, especially in the third period. They were crashing the net and attempting to limit Khudobin’s vision. He was fighting the puck all night. Afterwards, Bruce Cassidy described the goalie’s game as “erratic.” Look, there were plenty of breakdowns in front of him, but a goalie needs to settle things down when the players in front of him are imploding. Despite the loss, Khudobin is entertaining to watch, to say the least. If you didn’t know, you might think Tim Thomas was still playing for the Bruins. Thomas was obviously a far superior goalie, but Khudobin has similar mannerisms in and around the net. After Saturday’s head-scratcher, I’m sure the Bruins are hoping Tuukka Rask (concussion) is back sooner than later. It also wouldn’t be a surprise if general manager Don Sweeney is trying to figure out how to improve the organization’s goaltending depth.



Elite being elite: Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak scored two goals apiece for the Bruins, but it went for naught as the Sabres erased a three-goal deficit en route to the overtime victory. Marchand extended his point streak to five games with five goals and five assists for 10 points in that span. Pastrnak extended his point streak to five games with five goals and two assists for seven points.

Stepping up: With Kevan Miller (hand) and Adam McQuaid (broken right fibula) out of the lineup, defensemen Paul Postma and Rob O’Gara made their season debuts on Saturday. They were the team’s third pair and both played well. For his first game of the season, Postma showed no signs of rust. He was solid defensively, jumped up into the play and showcased his big shot. Since the Jets, his former team, plays an entirely different system, it was interesting to see if Postma could acclimate himself in Boston. It was evident he's had no issues with the x's and o's. O'Gara, who was recalled from Providence earlier in the day, also stepped right in with no issues. He was physical, kept his game simple and moved the puck well on the breakout. The type of game the Bruins need him to play in order to be successful.

TURNING POINT



Brandon Carlo made two crucial mistakes that contributed to the team’s loss. Listen, I’m not saying the implosion was all on the second-year defenseman, but he needed to have better awareness with the game on the line. Chalk it up to a learning experience. First, his interference penalty on the Sabres’ Kyle Okposo at 15:42 played a big role in Buffalo’s comeback win. Boston had a one-goal lead when Okposo was attempting to go around Carlo at the Bruins’ blue line. A split-second hesitation by Carlo before he decided to take the body made the referee’s decision an easy one to call the penalty. Had Carlo stepped up right away, he may have gotten away with one, but he ended up in the box. His second mistake was going to the bench when the penalty expired. The Sabres had possession in the offensive zone and the Bruins couldn’t get a player on the ice in time before Buffalo’s Evan Kane scored the game-tying goal. He should have engaged in the play right out of the box as the third forward down low.

“In hindsight, it could have worked out better,” Cassidy said of Carlo's decision to go to the bench instead of getting into the play. “He made the decision to come to the bench. We felt we could get our winger on and he’s got to make that split-second decision. They’re instructed to come out of the box and be the low forward, whether you’re a D or forward, especially if the other guys are fatigued. If you can get to the bench and get the positional player on then you make that decision. In hindsight, he should’ve went on and become our low forward. But at the end of the day, we didn’t do a good enough job. We didn’t stop in front. We didn’t clear the front. We didn’t control the rebound and get hungry on the puck and have the will to keep it out of our net. I’m not going to put it on Brandon Carlo.”

CHIRPPIN’ POINT

Oh, there’s penalty to chirp about after this game. But, I’ll stick with Matt Beleskey. In the role he’s in right now as a fourth-line winger, his game needs to be simple: Don’t make mistakes, be physical and play effectively during the time you’re on the ice in order to give the players in the top six a rest. For a player making $4 million per season, and expected to make offensive contributions, it can’t be a fun role to handle. Now, if the fourth line is Beleskey on the left, Riley Nash in the middle and Noel Acciari (broken finger) on the right, that trio brings a different dimension. Playing with Sean Kuraly and Frank Vatrano, Beleskey needs to keep it simple and he did that against the Sabres.

NOT ON THE SCORE SHEET

You’re not going to find Khudobin’s glove on the score sheet, or on the puck. Prior to Buffalo’s overtime goal, Boston’s netminder had a perfect opportunity to put out a fire. The Sabres had sustained pressure in the offensive zone, while Pastrnak, Torey Krug and Marchand were caught on the ice for a long shift. They were visibly exhausted. Buffalo’s Rasmus Ristolainen had the puck in the right faceoff circle when he took a wrist shot. The puck bounced off Khudobin’s glove and into the corner. A whistle was crucial at that point. It would have allowed the Bruins to get fresh legs on the ice. Instead, the Sabres maintained possession before Ryan O’Reilly scored the game-winning goal at 2:59 of OT.

“That was another instance of the third period, plus overtime, where we needed to calm the game down,” Cassidy said. “Whether it’s a face-off, or even right before the overtime goal, we had opportunities to get possession and they were hungrier than us late. They won more pucks. If we win that puck out of the pile we might not be talking about losing. Maybe we get out of trouble and it goes our way. We’ll never know.”

GOALS

Sabres game-winner.

https://twitter.com/BuffaloSabres/status/921930586629050368

Game-tying goal.

https://twitter.com/BuffaloSabres/status/921915413075722241

4-3

https://twitter.com/BuffaloSabres/status/921909591616774145

Marchand

https://twitter.com/NHLBruins/status/921901885526892545

Pasta

https://twitter.com/NHLBruins/status/921890186795143169

Marchand

https://twitter.com/PeteBlackburn/status/921884803951185920

UP NEXT

The Bruins continue their light October schedule and they’ll next host the San Jose Sharks on Thursday at TD Garden.