BSJ Game Report: Bruins 5, Sabres 1 - Bruins surge back against Buffalo

Everything you need to know from the Bruins’ 5-1 win over the Sabres with BSJ insight and analysis:

Box Score

SHORT SHIFT

Well, that escalated quickly. 

Despite relinquishing a seeing-eye goal to Buffalo midway through the first period, the Bruins did not dwell in their early deficit for long, burying four unanswered goals in the span of 5:31 to put themselves in the driver’s seat for an eventual 5-1 win over the Sabres. 

Patrice Bergeron, Charlie Coyle, David Pastrnak, Mike Reilly and Taylor Hall all scored for the Bruins — who improve to 10-6-0 on the season. Jeremy Swayman stopped 24 of 25 shots in a bounce-back showing from his loss to the Flames on Sunday. 

The Bruins might have taken care of business against a sinking Sabres club, but the win was marred by the sight of Charlie McAvoy exiting the game in the final minutes of the third period after a dangerous hit from Zemgus Girgensons. 

Postgame, Bruce Cassidy noted that Charlie McAvoy is “good” — noting that the B’s hope that he’ll be cleared to play on Friday afternoon against the Rangers.

Swayman will likely want that opening tally back after Kyle Okposo beat him short side at 10:56, but it didn’t take long for the Bruins to deliver a knockout punch against the home team. 

Just 2:33 later, Bergeron knotted things up at 1-1 with a backhand tally off of a scramble in front — while Coyle gave Boston the lead for good 51 seconds after Bergeron's goal with a snipe past Aaron Dell.

A hooking call against Rasmus Dahlin opened the door for Boston to do more damage on the man advantage, with Pastrnak rifling home a one-timer from his office to make it a 3-1 contest.

Reilly ended Boston’s first-period scoring salvo at 19:00, potting a skittering puck into a largely empty net to extend Boston’s lead to three. 

After Girgensons’s hit knocked McAvoy face-first into the boards, the Sabres forward was assessed a five-minute major and a game misconduct, with Hall burying the subsequent power-play goal to cap off the scoring on the night. 

FIVE UP

Bergeron Line: After only combining for one goal over their previous three contests, Boston’s top line inevitably broke through on the score sheet once again, with both Bergeron and Pastrnak lighting the lamp. During 5v5 play, the Bruins held a 13-5 edge in shots on goal when the Bergeron line was deployed. 

Reilly-Zboril pairing: I gotta say, I didn’t expect this duo to be quite this effective — especially straight from the jump. Reilly might have got the goal in this contest, but the entire sequence was jumpstarted by Zboril, who carried the puck through the neutral zone and fired off two shots — the latter of which eventually careened out to Reilly for the easy second-chance goal.

Jeremy Swayman: That shaky tally aside, Swayman locked things down as the game progressed, especially in a second period where the Sabres outshot the B’s by a 14-7 margin. 

Charlie Coyle: After scoring six goals in 51 games last season, Coyle equaled that scoring mark in just 16 games this year. Not too shabby.

Nick Foligno: A nice return to form for Foligno, who recorded a pair of helpers, landed five hits and dropped the gloves with Colin Miller. 

ONE DOWN

Erik Haula: It was a strong night for many skaters up and down Boston’s lineup, but Haula once again struggled to gain traction — prompting Cassidy to demote him down to the fourth line early into the contest. If Haula doesn’t start producing soon, a guy like Jack Studnicka should earn another shot down the middle. 

LOOSE PUCKS

B’s might have dodged a bullet: The Bruins will take the two points, but this night would have been spoiled if McAvoy was knocked out of action for an extended stretch. Of course, we’ll see how he fares over the next 36 hours or so, but it sure seems like the Bruins caught a break here with McAvoy. At this point, McAvoy might be the most valuable player on Boston’s roster, and even losing him for a small stretch could be devastating for this club. 

Not a statement win, but this stretch should offer the chance to pile up points: This game doesn’t change the narrative about the Bruins and their ability to go toe-to-toe with the NHL’s elite (which the Sabres certainly are not), but two points are still two points.

At this point in the season, the Bruins need to pile up points at a steady clip — and this upcoming slate of games (Vancouver on Sunday, Detroit on Tuesday and Nashville on Thursday) offers a chance for Boston to finally get into a bit of a groove. 

PLAY OF THE GAME

Coyle has roofed quite a few of his tallies so far this season. The Bruins will be pleased if he can continue to maintain that scoring touch.

PARTING THOUGHTS

LOOKING AHEAD

After some time off for Turkey Day, the Bruins will be back at it with their annual Black Friday matinee matchup with the Rangers at TD Garden. Puck drop is set for 1 p.m.