The Buffalo Sabres are going for the knockout punch of the Boston Bruins on Tuesday night at home in Game 5. After dominating the second half of Game 3 and all of Game 4, Buffalo is up 3-1 in the best-of-seven series.
It appears that the Sabres have the Black and Gold right where they want them, but head coach Lindy Ruff, who has been through his share of postseason battles, knows things won't come easy on Tuesday night.
“You can expect this to be the hardest game we’re going to have to play in the short term here,'' Ruff said.
If you're Buffalo, you want to close out the Bruins now. They are banged up with the health of some players in doubt, and they are coming off a 6-1 beatdown in Game 4. Jump on them early, and it could be lights out for the Bruins.
Bruins dealing with injuries?
Two key players, forward Viktor Arvidsson and defenseman Nikita Zadorov, missed practice on Monday. Arvidsson left Game 4 with an upper-body injury, while Zadorov took a major cross-checking penalty late in the game. He was fined for that hit on Rasmus Dahlin. Sturm claimed it was maintenance day for them.
"Maintenance day today,'' said Sturm. "We still have to check with medical but we have to wait until probably tomorrow on both of them."
Maintenance day? Yes, that's what it is called in the playoffs, a maintenance day.
More Boston Bruins & NHL News
- Don't look now, but we are just one game away from having two new teams in the Stanley Cup Final. We are guaranteed to have a new Eastern Conference team after the Florida Panthers didn't make the eight-team field. Now, we are one Anaheim Ducks win away from the two-time Western Conference champ, the Edmonton Oilers, being bounced. Who saw the Ducks over the Oilers in the first round?
- How did the Oilers fall behind 3-1? Well, in Game 4 late Sunday night, they picked up a 4-3 overtime win when Ryan Poehling scored his third goal of the series. Well, at least we think he scored. His shot eluded Edmonton goalie Tristan Jarry and appeared to cross the goal line. However, after not being called a goal on the ice, it was eventually called a goal before it went to replay. There was no conclusive evidence that the puck crossed the line, but the call was upheld. This will be talked about for a while.
- Speaking of the Ducks, former Bruins forward Jeffrey Viel scored his second goal of the series in Anaheim's Game 4 win.
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