BSJ Game Report: Bruins 7, Sabres 0 -- B's cruise past Sabres, win third straight

Everything you need to know from the Bruins’ 7-0 win against the Sabres, with BSJ insight and analysis:

BOX SCORE

HEADLINES

Seven Bruins score in statement victory in Buffalo: Jake DeBrusk notched a goal and three assists while Jeremy Swayman stopped all 26 shots he faced to highlight the Bruins' 7-0 win against the Sabres on Sunday at KeyBank Center.

The B's scored three goals in both the first and third periods and another in the second, for their second straight seven-goal output against the Sabres.

Patrice Bergeron, Garnet Hathaway, Hampus Lindholm, David Pastrnak, Charlie Coyle, Charlie McAvoy and DeBrusk found twine as the Bruins claimed their third win in a row.

David Krejci and Dmitry Orlov had the afternoon off, putting A.J. Greer and Jakub Zboril in and the pair made their presence felt. Zboril had an assist while Greer was involved physically.

Bergeron put the Bruins ahead in the blink of an eye after opening puck drop. The B's captain took a feed from Brad Marchand and one-timed the puck in as the Bruins took a 1-0 lead 15 seconds into the contest.

The Bruins' fast start continued when Hathaway fired a wrist shot past Luukonen to make it 2-0 B's. Zboril picked up the primary assist on the goal, which came at 9:01 of the first.

About three minutes later, DeBrusk scored his second in as many games, upping the Bruins' advantage to 3-0. Play had just returned to 5-on-5 action when Charlie Coyle found DeBrusk with a backhand pass right in front of the Buffalo crease. DeBrusk tucked it in for his 22nd of the season and capped off a strong first period for Boston.

Lindholm padded the Bruins' lead with a strike a 7:48 of the second period. Once again the Sabres left the slot open and Lindholm skated in and pocketed the 4-0 goal.

The game's physicality increased in the middle frame as Buffalo's frustration mounted. The boiling point came when Trent Frederic and Dylan Cozens dropped the gloves around the halfway mark.

The third period was essentially a formality as the Sabres showed no life in the final 20 minutes and the B's tacked on three more goals to finish the road trip with a 3-2 record.

Pastrnak, Coyle and McAvoy filled the cage in the final period.

FOUR UP

First period: You can't ask for a much better start than the Bruins had on Sunday. Bergeron set the tone 15 seconds in with his 26th of the year and the Bruins were off to the races. 

Hathaway and DeBrusk contributed goals later in the period to give the B's a commanding lead that lasted the rest of the afternoon. The B's have outscored opponents 6-1 during the first period in the past three games.

Swayman: In a similar vein, Swayman has been stellar his last two appearances, shutting out both the Jets and Sabres.

Swayman didn't see much action against Buffalo, but made a sharp save early to prevent the Sabres from getting any momentum in this one.

Swayman is the first Bruins goalie to pick up shutouts in consecutive starts since Tuukka Rask did so in 2013.

DeBrusk: The B's top-line winger seems to be getting back into a groove offensively following a four-point performance against the Sabres. DeBrusk scored against the Wild on Saturday for his second goal in 11 games, before adding another on Sunday.

The 2015 first-round pick passed his career-high point total with 44 points and needs five more goals to match his career-best 27 from 2018-19.

Power play: The Bruins scored on the man advantage for the second straight game Sunday with Pastrnak's 48th tally. The first unit has looked better the last couple games with solid puck movement, as evidenced by Pastrnak's goal in the third period.

PLAY OF THE GAME

Coyle scored the game's sixth goal, but had a pretty pass in the first period to set up DeBrusk's marker. The Weymouth native has stepped up his play of late and it showed on the scoresheet on Sunday.

LOOKING AHEAD

The Bruins return to TD Garden for three games, starting with a bout against the Senators on Tuesday. Ottawa is fighting for that last wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference as it sits seven points behind.

Puck drop is set for 7 p.m.