BSJ Game Report: Bruins 4, Sabres 0 — B’s post 1st win of 2018-19 behind complete effort, strong start from Jaroslav Halak taken at BSJ Headquarters (Bruins)

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BSJ Game Report: Bruins 4, Sabres 0 — B’s post 1st win of 2018-19 behind complete effort, strong start from Jaroslav Halak

By Conor Ryan

Oct 5, 2018 • 12:22 am

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Everything you need to know from the Bruins’ 4-0 win over the Sabres in quickie form, with BSJ insight and analysis:

BOX SCORE

HEADLINES

Bruins bounce back following Wednesday’s blowout: What a difference a day can make.

After laying an egg Wednesday in what was the worst season-opening loss in franchise history, the Black and Gold were improved in just about every facet of its game Thursday against the Sabres.

Boston’s top line of Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak combined for seven points, Jaroslav Halak posted a shutout, Buffalo struggled with zone entries and the B’s defensive structure was much more sound.

“We all knew, to a man, coaching staff on down, that we weren’t good enough last night,” Bruce Cassidy said. “So we needed to be better today and we were. Guys we count on led and the followers followed. That’s kind of the way it’s scripted and it worked out for us tonight.”

Jaroslav Halak posts shutout: Do we have a goalie controvers- ok, nope. I’ll pump the breaks on that.

While Halak benefited from a much more engaged defense in front of him and responsible play in the neutral zone, the B’s backup goalie was stout — stopping all 32 shots that came his way.

Halak stood on his head over the final 10 minutes of play, robbing Sam Reinhart point-blank while holding off the Sabres after they opted for an extra skater for over five minutes.

"It feels great. It would be awesome if we only got the win, but it makes it more special that I have the shutout,” Halak said. “I think it was a great team effort. We all knew that last night was just a bad effort all around. We needed to be better, and tonight, we came out and we played really well from the drop of the puck.”

THREE UP

Brad Marchand: It seems like Boston’s top left winger still hasn’t cooled down since pummeling Lars Eller on Wednesday, as Brad Marchand took out his frustrations on the Sabres by having a hand in all four of Boston’s goals on Thursday.

Along with helping to orchestrate a fantastic power-play tally by Ryan Donato (more on that later), he was a menace on the forecheck, eliminating any space a skilled Sabres squad might have had with players like Jack Eichel and Rasmus Dahlin on the ice. 

Boston needed its stars to set the tone and get the club back on track, and Marchand did that and then some tonight.

Zdeno Chara: Chara opened the scoring for the Bruins in the 2018-19 campaign, taking a great feed from Marchand and beating Buffalo goalie Carter Hutton short side after taking in close.




Chara’s tally was also one for the record books, as it marked the 20th season in which the veteran defenseman has lit the lamp. Only seven D-men have accomplished that feat before Chara— Ray Bourque, Chris Chelios, Scott Stevens, Al MacInnis, Harry Howell, Larry Murphy and Phil Housley.


David Pastrnak:
By the time David Pastrnak buried his first goal of the season at 16:16 in the second, it might have been the least impressive thing the skilled winger showcased out on the ice on Thursday.




No longer just an offensive dynamo, Pastrnak was a force across the ice for Boston, logging six shots on goal while also drawing a slashing call that led to Donato’s tally at 15:34 in the first.


Perhaps Pastrnak’s best play of the night came seconds before Chara’s opening score, with the winger diving in the slot to break up an Eichel pass that would have led to a Grade-A chance for the Sabres. It’s impressive to see just how far Pastrnak’s game has come since he joined the NHL ranks back in 2014.


TWO DOWN


Anders Bjork:
The extra forward in Wednesday’s loss, Anders Bjork benefited from Cassidy’s decision to juggle up Boston’s lines, skating on Boston’s revamped fourth line with Sean Kuraly and Danton Heinen.


As a whole, Bjork didn’t do too much in his season debut, logging 11:34 of ice time with zero shots on goal. It can be expected that Bjork might start slow, especially after missing all but one preseason game due to shoulder surgery.


John Moore:
It was a bit of an up-and-down showing from Moore, who finished with a plus-2 and logged a team-leading 1:33 on the penalty kill. However, a lapse midway through the first period led to one of the Sabres’ best scoring chances of the night, as he left Evan Rodrigues alone in the slot and forced Halak to make a point-blank stop.


While the B’s slot coverage was much better from what we saw on Wednesday, it was a costly sequence that could have put Boston in a hole to start this one.


INJURIES


Charlie McAvoy had a brief scare in the closing minutes of the second stanza, heading down the tunnel after taking a slap shot from N
athan Beaulieu slap shot off his foot. It didn’t feel too good, but McAvoy was back out and played for the remainder of the contest. He finished with a helper and a plus-2 rating while logging 22:40 of ice time.


TOP PLAYS


After failing to cash in on the power play during two bids last night, Boston made the most of its one opportunity on the man advantage Thursday, with Ryan Donato notching his first goal of the season off of an impressive tic-tac-toe passing sequence.


Started off with a neutral-zone turnover from Marchand, Donato corralled the puck and broke into the Sabres’ zone before feeding it to Bergeron. Bergeron traded the biscuit to Marchand in short order before Marchand hit Donato in stride. Skating just outside the crease, Donato uncorked a one-timer that beat Hutton to make it a 2-0 game.


Even before Donato’s tally, it was a step in the right direction for the B’s power play, with the second unit generating chance after chance while holding the puck in Buffalo’s zone for 50 seconds straight at one point.




UP NEXT


The Bruins will have a few days off before returning to the ice on Monday for their home opener against the Ottawa Senators. Tuukka Rask will likely get the call after getting a five-day break. Puck drop is set for 1 p.m.

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