James Nichols
The Buffalo Sabres jumped the Boston Bruins in their Game One victory. However, the B’s weren’t going to be caught sleeping twice.
The Bruins built a commanding lead and held on for a 4-2 victory over the Sabres on Tuesday night at KeyBank Center, evening the best-of-seven series at 1-1. After a scoreless first period, Boston erupted for three goals in the second and added one more early in the third before Buffalo mounted a late push.
Viktor Arvidsson opened the scoring at 4:54 of the second period with a backhand shot, assisted by Jonathan Aspirot and Casey Mittelstadt. Morgan Geekie made it 2-0 at 16:29 on another backhand, with helpers from David Pastrnak and Sean Kuraly. Pavel Zacha tipped in a power-play goal at 18:10 (assists: Pastrnak and Charlie McAvoy) to give Boston a 3-0 lead heading into the third.
Arvidsson notched his second goal just 16 seconds into the third period—assisted by Aspirot and McAvoy—extending the lead to 4-0.
Sabres coach Lindy Ruff opted to pull goaltender Ukko Pekka Luukkonen after surrendering four goals after 40:16 of play. Alex Lyon manned the Buffalo net for the remainder of the tilt, and made seven saves on seven shots in relief.
The Sabres responded late, with Bowen Byram and Peyton Krebs scoring in the final frame to make it 4-2. A flurry of roughing penalties and misconducts in the third, including a fight between Mark Kastelic and Logan Stanley, added physicality as tensions rose.
The Sabres pulled
Final shots were Boston 26, Buffalo 21. Jeremy Swayman earned the win in net for Boston with strong play after the first period, while Buffalo’s goaltender faced heavy pressure. Boston went 1-for-6 on the power play; Buffalo was 0-for-5.
The Bruins’ timely scoring and defensive structure in the first 40 minutes proved decisive, though Buffalo showed fight late. Game three moves to Boston on Thursday.
