One of the areas that plagued the Bruins this past season was the penalties. It seemed that every other whistle, the Bruins were getting called for a penalty. In the regular season, the Bruins have taken 372 penalties, cashing in at 978 minutes.
The #Bruins are the second-most penalized team in the NHL this season.
— Kevin Siracuse (@kevin_siracuse) April 18, 2026
They had 372 penalties called against them and 978 PIM (Penalties in Minutes).
Only the #Lightning have more penalties taken (425) and PIM (1,207).
The #Sabres power play, which ranks T-19th, needs to cash…
Fans knew that the Buffalo Sabres series was going to be a forecheck heavy. It was going to be a physical series, and it has been in the three games that have been played, especially Game 2, where there were 52 minutes of penalties in the second period alone.
The Penalty Kill Has Been Perfect
Just like to start the season, the penalty kill in this series has been perfect. The kill has gone 15-15 against a Sabres power play that was 19th in the league. This is really good news for the Boston Bruins, as the Sabres were hot on the power play during the regular season, but the Sabres' slumping has also helped the Bruins.
The Bruins have been breaking up passes, getting sticks on pucks, pressuring the Buffalo Sabres, and doing anything and everything they could to get on the puck and get the clears they needed to get their penalty killers off the ice and stay fresh.
While the four players on the ice have gotten the kills and sticks in place, Jeremy Swayman continues to be on fire when the Bruins are down a player. He is the true reason the penalty kill has been on fire and is seemingly seeing the puck at all angles.
Power Play Needs to Heat Up
The Bruins' power play, on the other hand, has been ice-cold. Yes, they have two power play goals in the series; they have had 12 chances. The Bruins have gone 2-12, including 0-4 in Game 3, with having had almost back-to-back power plays late in the third period before the Sabres scored the empty net goal to seal the game.
Both power play units need to heat up. David Pastrnak has not looked like himself in these last few games. The momentum shifter in Game 3 was the save by Alex Lyon against Victor Arvidsson on the penalty shot. If Arvidsson had scored on that penalty shot, it could have been a completely different outcome.
It will be interesting to see what is going to happen in Game 4 on Sunday afternoon. The Bruins will once again be looking to tie up the series while on home ice before heading back to KeyBank Center for Game 5. The best line in each game has been the fourth line. Yes, the fourth line.
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