Boston Bruins: 3 Big Goals in Win Over Sabres

It was a very good Thursday night all-around for the Boston Bruins.

They returned to the TD Garden from their five-game road trip and beat the Buffalo Sabres, 5-2, in a game that closer than what the final score indicates. Not only did the Black and Gold secure two huge points in the East Division and extended their lead over the New York Rangers to six points after the New York Islanders beat the Blue Shirts, 4-0, but the Bruins also remained on the heels of the Islanders for third place, remaining one point behind the Isles.

What was important in the victory was how the Bruins scored some of their goals and who scored them.

Tied 1-1 late in the first period, the Bruins scored a power play goal with 0.2 seconds left on the clock to snap their power play struggles. David Krejci ripped a slap shot from the left circle that hit the post, then the back of Buffalo goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and rolled across the goal line for a 2-1 lead.

Not a bad way to snap the power play drought.

Early in the third period, the Sabres tied the game 2-2, but one of the last people on the Bruins roster scored what turned out to be the game-winning goal.

Charlie Coyle snapped a 29-game goalless scoring drought by beating Luukkonen under the crossbar at 7:58 of the period for a 3-2 Boston lead. Talk about getting a large weight off of your shoulders.

The Bruins put the game away with less than four minutes left and Taylor Hall got into the act and remained hot since being acquired on April 11. Krejci made a move just inside the blueline around a defenseman, then toe-dragged around a second defenseman, slide a pass to Hall to buried the pass into an open net for a 4-2 lead.

Even the Sabres’ Twitter chimed in.

I mean, they didn’t see Hall score like that this year in a Buffalo uniform. They’re also paying half of his $8 million salary for the remainder of the year too.

Overall, it was a good night for the Bruins. They broke their power play scoring drought, Coyle finally found the back of the net and Hall scored another goal. Oh, and the Bruins also extended their lead on the Rangers for the final playoff berth too. Boston and Buffalo will play for an eighth and final time Saturday afternoon at the TD Garden.