When the Boston Bruins and Buffalo Sabres meet in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs beginning on Sunday night, it'll be a matchup of two contrasting styles. Buffalo has the speed and skill advantage, while Boston has the physical advantage. Or so head coach Marco Sturm believes.
"We know how we have to play [(and) we are going to be ready to go," Sturm said. "We are bigger, stronger, we are more physical. We just have to be smart, but we’re going to go after them. Whoever comes in, first line, second line, I don’t really care. We’ll try to play our game and not their game.”
Playing Boston's game is really the chance they have to be the first team to win four games in the series. If the games get into shootouts, well, the Bruins will have very little chance at coming out on top when the dust settles. However, Sturm's comments were heard in Buffalo and by fans in Western New York and you know are going to trickle back to the locker room. You hope it isn't bulletin board material.
Bruins coach Marco Sturm sends subtle message to Sabres ahead of first-round series
If you need any proof that it's been a long time since playoff hockey has been in Buffalo, all you need to do is scroll social media and look at Sabres' fans' reaction to Sturm's comments. It got them all fired up, but honestly, the comments that are made every year when the playoffs roll around. This is nothing new to anyone, well, except Sabres' fans who have been through a massive rebuild for several years and have forgotten what it's like with some playful talk before and during a series. However, Sturm may have sent too much of a message with this comment.
"I know a lot of teams, they’re afraid of us," Sturm said. "I can tell, you can see it, you can hear it. And that’s what we have to do in Buffalo."
I don't think Buffalo is afraid of the Bruins. Buffalo has their own physical players in the lineup, and one of their best players, Tage Thompson, is an intimidating player. Is what Sturm said going to be plastered all over the Sabres locker room? Probably, anything that comes close to that is always posted on the wall of locker rooms. The Black and Gold are hoping that Sturm's comments will not come back to haunt them when the series is over.
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