Bruins Postgame Reflections: Swayman swagger, mind-numbing ending, puck luck

Three games into the season, and the Boston Bruins are 3-0-0. Wins over the Washington Capitals, Chicago Blackhawks, and the Buffalo Sabres have not always been pretty, but not much will be pretty in 2025-26. First-year coach Marco Sturm's style and system will make for a lot of close games that will take nearly the entire 60 minutes, or more, if the Black and Gold are going to win.

That has been the case in all three wins. An overtime win over the Blackhawks has been between a pair of 3-1 wins over the Capitals and Sabres that needed an empty-net goal to seal the victory. After the Bruins picked up their third straight win to begin the season, here are some postgame reflections against Buffalo.

Jeremy Swayman strong once again

It's funny what a full training camp does to a player, no? After missing all of last season because of his contract situation, he had a full camp this year, and even though it's been just two games, the results speak for themselves.

After stopping 35 of 36 shots against Washington on Wednesday night, Swayman looked sharp once again against the Sabres, stopping 21 of the 22 shots he faced. The only one to get by him was a Jason Zucker shot that deflected off of Andrew Peeke in the third period. Otherwise, he stopped everything else. The first period was one where he saw just two shots, but he responded with a strong second period. Two games and 56 saves on 58 shots are certainly a confidence builder.

Penalty killing perfect again

Three games into the season, and the Bruins are a perfect 12-for-12 on penalty kills. After surviving five kills against a talented Capitals group, the Black and Gold had to kill four against Buffalo, including one midway through the third period.

After Zucker cut the deficit to 2-1, Charlie McAvoy was whistled for a trip. The Sabres, who were shut out in their season opener against the New York Rangers, had a golden opportunity to tie the game, but the Bruins were up for the challenge. Not all the kills were flawless, as they survived a few, but the final result is that they killed them.

Wacky final two minutes

Trailing 2-1 late in the third, Buffalo pulled Alex Lyon for the extra attacker. An empty-net was facing the Bruins with a chance to seal it. They struggled to get a two-goal lead. David Pastrnak missed two chances, and Elias Lindholm sent the puck toward the empty net from the Boston blueline, but Ryan McLeod was able to grab the rolling puck before it crossed the goal line, giving the Sabres life.

It took until three seconds were left in the game when Sean Kuraly redirected a Lindholm pass into the open net to seal the victory. Last year, with the way things went, you just knew that Buffalo would have come down and scored to tie the game and go to overtime. So far, that's not the case in 2025-26. That could change, but nothing will be easy for this Boston team this season.

Odds & Ends

• Pucks to the net. That's what coaches love to preach. In the second period, Mark Kastelic did that on what seemed like a harmless shot and found the back of the net. The shot hit the Sabres' Connor Timmins, and it deflected past Lyon for a 2-0 Bruins lead. It turned out to be the game-winner. Pucks and bodies to the net.
• Pavel Zacha scored his first goal in the opening period when he buried a pass from defenseman Jordan Harris. In the lineup because of an injury to Hampus Lindholm, Harris pinched in from the point on an Andrew Peeke shot and set up Zacha for a one-timer.

• The Bruins' power play didn't score, but it looked good again. Lyon was a big reason why, with some big saves, and the Bruins hit a post. It's looked better in three games this year, and sooner or later, the puck will go into the net, right?
• Lyon stopped 28 of the 30 shots he faced, including some big ones. Buffalo has one goal in six periods of play so far, but Lyon was the only reason why the game was close until the end. He made 16 saves in the first period alone.
• Next up is the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday afternoon at the TD Garden at 1 p.m. before the Bruins head west for three games. Tampa Bay has dropped its first two games of the season to the Ottawa Senators and New Jersey Devils, both at home.