BSJ Game Report: Bruins 3, Sabres 1 - Kinkaid, Zboril lift B’s to another win

Everything you need to know from the Bruins’ 3-1 win over the Sabres, with BSJ insight and analysis:

BOX SCORE

HEADLINES

Kinkaid, Zboril push Boston to 10th win in 11 games: When you match your team’s best start to a season in 92 years, a lot has to be going your way. 

Look no further than the Bruins’ showing up in Buffalo on Saturday. Because in a game in which the Bruins looked like they were going to get run off the ice after the first period, Boston still managed to get two points against a division foe.

And even though Patrice Bergeron might have led the charge for his team with two tallies, it was once again a grouping of unsung heroes that helped the B’s clinch another win — with Keith Kinkaid locking things down in net and Jakub Zboril burying his first career NHL goal in what ended up being a 3-1 win at KeyBank Arena. 

Kinkaid, making his first NHL start since Dec. 15, 2021, was stellar between the pipes for Boston — stopping 30 shots in the win, including eight high-danger shots in close by the Sabres. Meanwhile, Zboril picked a perfect time to light the lamp for the first time, giving Boston the lead for good at 12:31 in the third period.

Once again, Saturday was another game in which Boston’s established stars and strong special-teams play (at least on the PK) allowed Boston to stay in the fight despite an ugly start. But it was the entire roster pulling on the rope (including the team’s third-string goalie) that has put the Bruins in a spot where they’ve snagged 26 out of a possible 30 points out of the gate this year.

Impressive stuff. 

Bruins start slow again: The Bruins have had far more lopsided scores to claw back from so far this season. But given the play (or lack thereof) that the B’s put forth for most of the first 30+ minutes of action on Saturday night — what was a one-goal deficit after 20 minutes sure felt a lot more disheartening. 

Truth be told, the Bruins might have won their 10th game in their last 11 tries on Saturday, but Boston has been knocked for some extended sluggish play in their last four games — with wins over St. Louis, Calgary and Buffalo all getting dragged down by some lapses in execution, especially in the neutral zone.

Boston won’t have a lot of time to refocus before battling Vancouver on Sunday, but this extended stretch of off days from Monday-Wednesday should give Jim Montgomery some time to tighten things up. 

FOUR UP

Keith Kinkaid: The rest of his teammates sure didn’t alleviate the pressure on him in the early going, but Kinkaid was more than up to the task in his first start with the Bruins — stopping 30 of the 31 saves that came his way in the win. His pad save against Jack Quinn snuffed out whatever momentum swing Buffalo was looking to generate. 

Penalty kill: Boston’s power play both capitalized and was scored against on Saturday, but the B’s league-leading PK grouping was as consistent as ever — going 3-for-3 on the night against the Sabres and limiting Buffalo to just three shots on goal. Boston has now killed 94.9 percent of opposing power plays so far this season.

Jakub Zboril: It sure hasn’t been the best start to the season for Zboril, who has gone through his ups and downs while recovering from knee surgery. But the B’s blueliner finally broke through with his first career goal in his 65th NHL game — sniping a puck past Craig Anderson to give Boston a lead it would not relinquish.

Patrice Bergeron: Ho hum. 17:31 of ice time. 14 wins on 24 chances at the dot. And another two goals. Bergeron continues to roll right along, and Montgomery even reunited the 63-37-88 line for an extended stretch — leading to a highlight-reel goal for the B’s captain to see this game at 18:11 in the third. 

ONE MEH

Power play: Saturday’s contest was a great case study in terms of both the pros and cons of a five-forward unit on the power play. Things were ugly in the early going for the B’s, with a misplay between David Krejci and David Pastrnak leading to a Tage Thompson shorthanded strike — with Krejci serving as a shoddy last line of defense.  But Montgomery stuck with his 5F grouping later in the game and was rewarded — with an unchecked Bergeron in the bumper pouncing on a loose puck and flipping it into twine to tie the game at 18:51 in the second. 

ONE DOWN

The first 35 minutes of play: A stick tap to all you dedicated Bruins fans who managed to gut it out and watch most of the first two periods of play — because this was … rough.  Other than Kinkaid, there were very few standout players for the B’s to begin this one — with Boston’s forechecking pressure, offensive execution and transition play all severely lacking. 

PLAY OF THE GAME

LOOSE PUCKS

LOOKING AHEAD

The Bruins will now head back to TD Garden and complete a back-to-back slate on Sunday evening — with the B’s set to battle the Vancouver Canucks on Causeway Street. Puck drop is set for 6 p.m.