Boston Bruins: B’s Drive Sabre Through Buffalo

The Boston Bruins finished off a busy day with a game against the Buffalo Sabres where they would look to win their ninth win in a row.

Buffalo went into last night’s match hoping to bounce back from their loss against Columbus on Tuesday night, inching them closer to that second wild-card spot. Center Tage Thompson leads this team as their top scorer with 41 goals this season which is third in the league behind Connor McDavid and David Pastrnak.

The game was scoreless through the first period and much of the second until Dmitry Orlov clapped home a rocket 12 minutes through. Jakub Lauko found his way into tonight’s lineup and took the opportunity to add to Boston’s lead a minute and a half later to make it 2-0 good guys. Brad Marchand left the game in the second period with a lower-body injury and did not return. Coach Montgomery said after the game that they’re not positive but they don’t think it’s too serious.

The Bruins went on the penalty kill early in the third but seemed to have no issue thwarting the Buffalo attack. Around the halfway point of the third, Pavel Zacha got a sweet feed from David Krejci to pad the lead. 3-0 Bs. David Pastrnak celebrated his major extension with an empty net goal to make it 4-0. Casey Middlestat was able to beat Jeremy Swayman to make it 4-1 Buffalo. Patrice Bergeron did his best Linus Ullmark impersonation and shot the puck 200 feet for a goal short-handed this time. Then Clifton wanted to get in on the fun and made it 6-1 for his 5th of the year. That is two shorthanded goals on the same penalty kill.  Lauko decided he wanted a second goal and made it 7-1 for his 3rd goal of his career and his first multi-goal game.

Dmitry Orlov Has Been Lights Out

The Bruins traded for Dmitry Orlov and Garnet Hathaway last week sending Craig Smith out in the process. Since his debut, Orlov has potted 3 goals and has 8 points in 3 games. It seems like the new play style and opportunity that Boston is able to give him. Orlov has said that the emotions from the trade are still there but he isn’t playing like it. The 31-year-old has skated in 12 periods in a Boston sweater and has 8 points to show for it. Orlov’s production is a pleasant surprise for the Bruins and opens up the opportunity to mix up some D-line rotations. Coach Jim Montgomery said after the game ” He can make great plays on offense and shut down on defense. It just makes us really deep.”

Buffalo Runs Out of Steam

The Bruins put up an absurd 5 goal period in the third last night. Ukko-Pekka Lukkanen stood on his head for the first half of the game and the Sabres did a good job of keeping it competitive but the Bruins just kept coming and they took the game to the Sabres, something coach Jim Montgomery said was a goal for this team at his introductory press conference last summer. Buffalo is making a push to try and snag that last wildcard spot where they would probably play Boston in the first round which would be a good series, Buffalo plays the Bruins really well and could shock some people if they make it.

Boston Continues Historical Season

Last night’s win marked the Bruins’ 48th win and the team’s ninth in a row. Boston also became the fastest team to 100 points in league history recording 101 points in 61 games. Speaking of stats in the hundreds, the Bruins currently have a goal differential of +103 which is just plain ridiculous! This is a team that will add forward Tyler Bertuzzi on Saturday during their Matinee matchup against the New York Rangers.

Cue the Goalie hug.