Following Sunday night’s shutout victory over the New York Rangers, the Boston Bruins are looking to make it two wins in a row when they take on the Buffalo Sabres tonight at KeyBank Center in Buffalo.
On Monday night, the Bruins released their roster for tonight’s game. Their roster consists of mostly rookies and prospects with the exception of Milan Lucic, Jayson Megna, Matt Grzelcyk and Brandon Carlo.
Boston will be looking to improve to 2-0 in the preseason with victory over the Sabres, but they have an uphill battle to climb as Buffalo’s roster tonight will consist of a few veterans of their own who are not only experienced in the league, but are known for their goal-scoring.
So, truthfully, can the Bruins make it two wins in a row? Here are three keys to taking home a victory tonight over the Sabres.
Key #1 – Get on the board first
With so many young players in tonight’s game, Boston has to get on the board first – especially if Buffalo is to start their presumed regular season starter Devon Levi.
John Beecher is back in the lineup for the second week in a row, and he is one player to keep an eye on tonight. Beecher’s goal in the first preseason game against the New York Rangers put the metaphorical nail on the coffin, and look for head coach Jim Montgomery to push him to be a bigger part of the offense tonight.
Other pieces of the offense tonight to keep an eye on are Luke Toporowski, and Georgii Merkulov. Both showed some chemistry both in camp, and at the Prospects Challenge just over a week ago in Buffalo. Toporowski had two goals in three games, and he’s looking to get back on the scoresheet tonight.
If the Bruins can get up early, and make the Sabres work from behind early, they may be able to pull off a victory.
Key #2 – Special teams must play well
In the first game of the preseason, both aspects of special teams played well.
The penalty kill went 5-for-5, and the power play converted on its only chance of the night. Last season, Boston was the league-leader on the kill, and the 12th-best on the power play and they are looking to replicate that this season.
Since it’s the preseason, penalties are bound to occur as players are still adjusting to officiating again, and for some NHL officiating for the first time.
If the Bruins are able to stay strong on the power play, and not let any Sabres man-advantages get through their young defensive core, they should be in good shape.
Key #3 – Goaltending plays good (enough)
After giving goaltending duties to Brandon Bussi exclusively on Sunday night, it’s unclear what Montgomery and his staff plan to do with the two netminders on their roster tonight.
Given the youth trend on both the team, and in net, it’s likely they will go with Michael DiPietro, but it is also very possible that Boston’s brass gave the go-ahead to split time between Kyle Keyser and DiPietro.
After Bussi’s shutout performance on Sunday, tonight appears to be a battle of who backs up the second-year goalie out of Western Michigan University in Providence.
While DiPietro is the younger of the two, he is the one with NHL experience with one NHL game under his belt. Keyser, however, has more to prove as he has been with the organization for longer. If either goalie can stand tall, and make life difficult on Buffalo’s goal-scorers, we may be in for a defensive feast.
When is the game and how can I watch it?
Tonight’s game can be viewed nationally on NHL Network, and locally on NESN-plus with puck drop from Buffalo at 7 p.m.