Final: Bruins 3, Sabres 1 - Bruins win third consecutive game to start season

The Boston Bruins win their third consecutive game with a 3-1 victory against the Buffalo Sabres.

Tonight wasn't the most exciting game, but the Bruins applied the pressure early and shut down the Sabres to maintain their lead.

The Bruins came out firing against Sabres goalie Alex Lyon. They kept the Sabres in their defensive zone the majority of the period, but Lyon stayed strong against the variety of shots he faced.

With five minutes left in the first period, the Bruins finally got on the board with a goal from Pavel Zacha. Boston controlled the puck in Buffalo's defensive zone, and Jordan Harris crashed down from the point and found Zacha for a one-timer goal on the left side of the slot.

Both teams traded penalties through the start of the second period, but the Bruins extended their lead with a goal from Mark Kastelic. A shot from Nikita Zadorov rimmed around the boards towards the right side of the blue line. Kastelic picked up the puck off the boards and dumped a shot that ricocheted off a Buffalo defenseman into the net.

Up by two goals in the third period, the Bruins didn't play with the same urgency compared to the other periods. With 10 minutes remaining in the game, the Sabres cut Boston's lead to one goal. Buffalo intercepted a breakout pass from Andrew Peeke at center ice, and Jason Zucker fired a goal past Jeremy Swayman to give the Sabres life.

However, it wasn't enough for Buffalo to complete a late-game comeback. The Bruins shut down the Sabres the rest of the game, and Sean Kuraly picked up an empty net goal with two seconds remaining to seal the win.

The Bruins didn't play a complete game tonight, but they did what it took to pull out a victory. They played great defense behind Swayman and prevented Buffalo from finding consistent ice time in their offensive zone. Boston played like the better team, and it showed.

The Bruins will finish their home stand with a game against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday. Puck drop will take place at 1 p.m.

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WHO: Bruins (2-0-0) at Sabres (0-1-0)
WHEN: 7 p.m.
WHERE: TD Garden, Boston
TV: NESN
RADIO: 98.5-FM The Sports Hub

LIVE BOX SCORE

PROJECTED LINES

Boston

Geekie - Lindholm - Pastrnak

Zacha - Mittelstadt - Arvidsson

Jeannot - Minten - Eyssimont

Khusnutdinov - Kuraly - Kastelic

Lohrei - McAvoy

Harri - Peeke

Zadorov - Jokiharju

Swayman

Korpisalo

Sabres

Zucker - Kulich -Thompson

Quinn - Mcleod - Tuch

Doan - Krebs - Danforth

Malenstyn - Kozak - Geertsen

Byram - Dahlin 

Power - Timmins

Samuelsson - Johnson

Lyon

Georgiev

PREGAME NOTES

The Bruins look to continue their win streak against the Buffalo Sabres with Jeremy Swayman in net.

Hampus Lindholm is listed out of the game and is considered day-to-day with a lower-body injury.

Jordan Harris will make his Bruins debut tonight. The Massachusetts native, who played at Northeastern, will play with Andrew Peeke on the second defensive pairing.