Final: Sabres 3, Bruins 2 F/OT - Sabres defeat Bruins in overtime

The Bruins lose to the Buffalo Sabres 3-2 with Alex Tuch picking up the game winning goal in overtime. At one point, the Bruins had the lead in this game, but offensive droughts in the second and third periods resulted in Boston only picking up one point in the contest.

The game didn't start off well for the Bruins. Mark Kastelic received an early penalty in the first period, and the Sabres took a 1-0 lead with a power play goal from Peyton Krebs. 

After Buffalo's first goal, the Bruins had a 5-on-3 power play for 53 seconds, yet they weren't able to get a tying goal. However, later in the period, Boston's first line was able to produce the offensive energy needed. In a span of two minutes, Pavel Zacha and Morgan Geekie scored consecutive goals to give the Bruins a 2-1 lead going into the first intermission.

Boston's lone two goals in those two minutes were the only form of constant offense they were able to provide. For the remaining 40 minutes of the game, Buffalo pressured the Bruins in their own defensive zone which eventually resulted in a tying goal from Owen Power.

Despite the struggles, the Bruins and Joonas Korpisalo were able to hold off anymore goals from the Sabres in regulation, bringing the game into overtime. 

In overtime, the Bruins and Sabres traded scoring chances during 3-on-3 hockey. However, Marat Khusnutdinov was called for a tripping penalty with two minutes remaining, and Tuch scored the game-winning goal that gave Buffalo the extra point in the game.

If it weren't for key saves from Korpisalo and the offensive surge made by Boston's first line, the result in this game could've been far worse. The Bruins recorded less than 20 shots in this game, and poor penalties and penalty killing were their downfall.

The Bruins will now travel to Las Vegas taking on the Golden Knights on Thursday. It'll be a late one, as puck drop will be at 10 p.m.

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WHO: Bruins (30-30-8) vs Sabres (26-33-6)
WHEN: 7 p.m.
WHERE: TD Garden, Boston
TV: NESN
RADIO: 98.5-FM The Sports Hub

LIVE BOX SCORE

ROSTERS

PROJECTED LINES

Boston

Geekie - Zacha - Pastrnak

Koepke - Mittlestadt - Lettieri

Khusnutdinov - Lindholm - Lauko

Beecher - Brown - Kastelic

Zadorov - Jokiarju

Lohrei - Peeke 

Wotherspoon - Mitchell

Korpisalo

Swayman

Buffalo

Greenway - Thompson - Tuch

Benson - McLeod - Zucker

Murray - Krebs - Quinn 

Malenstyn - Kozak - Lafferty 

Samuelsson - Dahlin

Power - Clifton 

Byram - Bryson

Luukkonen

Reimer

PREGAME NOTES

The Bruins look to end their two game losing streak against the Buffalo Sabres at TD Garden in a St. Patrick's Day showdown.