BSJ Game Report: Sabres 4, Bruins 2 - B’s can’t keep up with Sabres’ top line taken at TD Garden (Bruins)

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Bruins

BSJ Game Report: Sabres 4, Bruins 2 - B’s can’t keep up with Sabres’ top line

By Conor Ryan

Dec 16, 2018 • 9:11 pm

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Everything you need to know from the Bruins’ 4-2 loss against the Sabres in quickie form, with BSJ insight and analysis:

BOX SCORE

HEADLINES

B’s let more points slip by:

Where have we seen this script before? On a night in which Boston led in attempts (67-40), shots on goal (37-27) and overall scoring chances (32-16), the Bruins still left the ice with no points to show for it on Sunday evening against Buffalo.

Similar to Friday’s 5-3 loss at the hands of the Penguins, Boston struggled to generate their quality looks and possession-heavy metrics into tangible goals. And even when they managed to force a deadlock in the final stanza of play, they let the lead slip away minutes later.

On Friday, it was Jake Guentzel firing one home just 2:45 after Boston’s equalizer to give Pittsburgh the lead for good. On Sunday, Jeff Skinner’s second goal of the night put the lead out of reach for the B’s just 3:08 after Torey Krug tied things up.

Casting out a 5-0 blowout against Florida earlier this month, the effort has been there for the Bruins during this recent skid. But the results? Well...



Cassidy shuffles things up again: While the Krejci line has led the way up front for Boston over the past week, another listless stretch for the B’s offense once again prompted Bruce Cassidy to put his lines in the blender during the second period.

At one point rolling out a top-six that featured Joakim Nordstrom on the first line and Brad Marchand skating to the right of Colby Cave and David Backes, the switch didn’t do much to solve Boston’s stalled scoring output, with the B’s second goal of the night coming just seconds after the team’s second stint on the power play came to a close.

THREE UP

Steven Kampfer: A game removed from Brandon Carlo snapping a goalless streak that stretched back to March 2017, Steven Kampfer managed to one-up his fellow defenseman. By beating Linus Ullmark short side off of a nice feed from Joakim Nordstrom in the second period, Kampfer tallied not only his first goal of the season — but his first tally with the B’s since March 3, 2011. He was traded during the 2012 season before rejoining the club this year off of a swap with the Rangers in the deal involving Adam McQuaid.




Fourth Line: 
After a dominant outing on Friday against Pittsburgh, Boston’s checking line was at it again on Sunday against the Sabres. Primarily matched up against the dangerous Jack Echel line — Boston held a 5-2 edge in shots on goal and a 9-5 edge in attempts during the 8:52 5v5 TOI in which both 
Noel Acciari
 and Eichel were out at the same time.


Linus Ullmark: 
Buffalo’s backup netminder was fantastic on Sunday, turning aside three prime scoring chances — including a pair of attempts by
 Ryan Donato. 
After stopping the B’s winger during a penalty shot, Ullmark denied Donato once again on an even better scoring bid, gloving the puck after a nifty toe drag move by Donato.


THREE DOWN


Quick-trigger officials: 
Boston once again was on the wrong side of a call on the ice Sunday, with 
Brad Marchand’s 
11th goal of the season negated by an early whistle. After 
Colby Cave 
drove to the net and caused a fracas in the crease, Marchand appeared to knock home the loose puck to give Boston a 2-1 lead, but the play was waved off due to a whistle. While the refs looked at the tape for close to three minutes, it was tabbed as a “non-reviewable play” and was not overturned.






Power play: 
Boston landed fours shots on net against Ullmark on the man advantage Sunday, including a couple of quality looks, but once again was not able to convert. Dating back to the start of December, Boston’s power play is now operating at just an 11.5 percent (3-for-26) clip.


McAvoy/Grzelcyk pairing: 
While they finished with a positive Corsi-For Percentage (51.85) on the night, Boston’s top pairing of Grzelcyk and McAvoy had a rough go of it on Sunday, especially against a fellow BU Terrier in Eichel. In 15:54 of 5v5 TOI together, McAvoy and Grzelcyk were on the ice for two goals against while Boston was edged in high-danger scoring chances, 4-2, during that same stretch.


PLAY OF THE GAME:




LOOKING AHEAD


The B’s will be right back at it on Monday, with the club set to travel up to Montreal to take on the Habs for the third time this season. Puck drop is set for 7:30 p.m. So far, the Bruins and Habs have split the season series, 1-1, with the road team clinching two points in their previous matchups.

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