Preview: Bruins at Sabres, TV, time, lines, what to know
By Bryan Murphy
The Boston Bruins are coming off a 1-1-0 weekend, beating the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday, but falling 4-0 to the Calgary Flames on Sunday.
It was ironic considering heading into Saturday’s game, they had not played in five games. While they looked great in Philly, it was Sunday that the team looked like they hadn’t played a game in that span.
The focus now shifts to the Buffalo Sabres, who are losers of three in a row. After a hot start, the Sabres have lost nine out of their last 10 games, and have dropped to 7-9-2.
The Bruins previously defeated the Sabres 4-1 in their third game of the season, which was Buffalo’s first loss of the season. They head back up to upstate New York to try and grab their second win against their divisional foe.
When: 7 p.m. ET
Where: KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York
TV: NESN
Stream: ESPN+
"Bruins projected linesMarchand-Bergeron-PastrnakHall-Coyle-FolignoDeBrusk-Haula-SmithBlidh-Nosek-Lazar Grzelcyk-McAvoyForbort-CarloReilly-Zboril UllmarkSwayman"
"Sabres projected linesSkinner-Thompson-OlofssonCaggiula-Cozens-HinostrozaAsplund-Girgensons-OkposoRuotsalainen-Eakin-Bjork Dahlin-PysykBryson-JokiharjuHagg-Miller DellTokarski"
The Bruins once again are playing with their defensive pairings. This time, Matt Grzelcyk is going back up with Charlie McAvoy, with Derek Forbort moves down to play with Brandon Carlo. Jakub Zboril continues to impress and is in the lineup once again.
For the forward group, Anton Blidh, like Zboril, is in the lineup again and rightfully so. He’s been playing some of his best hockey in his short NHL career and making an impact on that fourth line.
Buffalo has been struggling mightily to keep the puck out of the back of their net. On this three-game skid, the Sabres have given up 17 goals. Their 3.39 goals allowed per game is the fifth-highest in the league, something the Bruins need to capitalize on, especially coming off a shutout.
The inconsistency of Boston has been the most frustrating part of the season. The team gets the wins against lesser opponents, but then crumbles against the better teams. As a result, they are stuck in the middle of their division.
This winger is playing some of his best hockey yet. dark. Next
Luckily for them, the Sabres are not a great team and this should be a great way to find their footing and hopefully, keep the momentum going and use this game as the start of a run.