After winning four of their five games on their recent homestand, the Boston Bruins hit the road for a five-game road trip that begins in Buffalo tonight against the Sabres. It will actually be the first of three consecutive games in Western New York against the last-place team in the East Division.
The Bruins survived a week ago against Buffalo, winning in a shootout, 3-2, at the TD Garden. After losing 18 games in a row at one point this season, Buffalo is 6-3-2 in their last 10 games, including a 4-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins Sunday afternoon.
He is three keys to a Bruins victory to begin their road trip.
1. Get ahead, stay ahead
Yes, the Sabres are a different team since the trade deadline and their losing streak. They have been playing more freely and playing a full 60 minutes. It would be in the Black and Gold’s best interest to get ahead and stay ahead. Getting ahead by two or more goals would be ideal, since the Bruins are 14-0-1 when they have a lead of at least two goals at any point in a game this season.
2. Win the special teams battle.
The Bruins penalty-killing unit is ranked first in the NHL and they have killed 15 of their opponents 17 chances during their current winning streak. Buffalo’s power play ranked in the middle of the league at No. 14, while on the other hand, Boston’s power play has been disappointing as of late. Fixing the issues on the man advantage is something that Bruce Cassidy’s crew is going to need to do in the not too distant future. Buffalo’s PK is ranked 21st, so maybe tonight is the night they can get it going.
3. Top-six forwards continue production.
Since acquiring Taylor Hall on April 11 from the Sabres, the Bruins top-six forwards have been on fire. How good have they been? Well, David Pastrnak finally scored, David Krejci had two goals against the Washington Capitals Sunday and Craig Smith has 18 points in his last 16 games. Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand have also scored during the recent hot streak. Two lines producing is something the Bruins have not had a while.
Tonight’s game starts at 6:30 against the Sabres and kicks off a stretch where Boston hopes to get some separation in the standings from the New York Rangers for the fourth and final division playoff berth.