Oct 18, 2014; Buffalo, NY, USA; Boston Bruins defenseman
Dougie Hamilton(27) celebrates his first period goal with teammate center
Patrice Bergeron(37) against the Buffalo Sabres at First Niagara Center. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports
The Boston Bruins finished up their three game road trip with a match against the league’s favorite whipping post, the Buffalo Sabres. The Bruins blueliners came out firing on all cylinders earning three out of their four goals tonight in a blanking of the Sabres, 4-0.
The Bruins have had very little help in scoring from their defensemen in their fist six games. (They were tied for twenty eighth for points from defenseman coming into tonight.) Tonight they corrected that shortfall with a vengeance. The B’s more than doubled their total with two points from Dougie Hamilton (who for the first time looked like a solid veteran top line d-man), and goals from Zdeno Chara and Torey Krug.
The Carl Soderberg line was formidable again for Boston tonight. They worked together to get the fourth goal of the night. Carl Soderberg earned the B’s last goal, with strong assists from Chris Kelly and Loui Eriksson
Dougie Hamilton played as if possessed tonight. He was everywhere, and this was by far his finest game so far. He had a goal, an assist, was a +3 and led all players tonight with 25:21 of ice time. He scored the B’s first goal, and was the only Bruins to end up with a multi point game tonight. Hamilton got three shots on net, blocked three shots, and played like he was equal parts Patrice Bergeron and Zdeno Chara. He should have gotten top star honors tonight (That honor was given to fellow blueliner Dennis Seidenberg.)
The Black and Gold chose to put Niklas Svedberg in net tonight, and he was sensational. Svedberg earned his first career NHL shutout by blanking Buffalo on all the thirty two shots made on net. He was steady and controlled, and made timely and precise saves on net. (Granted, it was against the Buffalo Sabres, but a NHL shutout is a NHL shutout.) Surprisingly, this was the first time the Buffalo Sabres have faced back to back shutout losses since October 2003.
Claude Julien had been adding a lot more battling in the dirty areas for pucks and shots on net. That extra practice was crucial in the B’s scoring bonanza this evening. Goals were made through traffic, goals were made by long range shots, and goals were made by crashing to the net. For the first time since opening night, the B’s played a full committed sixty minute game. Penalties were still a problem (a lot of them on former Canadien and Sabres captain Brian Gionta), but the penalty kill squad played liked the Bruins of the last few seasons.
The Sabres played like the Bruins have been playing. They had a strong first period with sixteen shots on net, but after the B’s had earned the Hamilton and Chara goals, they seemed to fade away in this game. The Sabres are now 1-5-0, and are on their way to becoming a perennial joke in the NHL. The Sabres went 0-for-7 on the power play tonight (They are 0-for-22 for the season). The Bruins are now 3-4-0 and get a day off to celebrate their well earned victory.