It wouldn't be the first time this season that Marco Sturm went against the grain with one of his coaching decisions to the chagrin of Boston Bruins fans, but he ended up being right in the end. When Sturm called out the Buffalo Sabres before Game 1, saying that his team was "bigger, stronger, and more physical", many shook their heads at the bulletin board material that he was giving them. However, it is all going to plan for the Bruins' head coach.
The Bruins were seven minutes away from leaving Buffalo with a 2-0 series lead. Sturm's group fell apart in the third period of Game 1, but the coach was happy with the way they played for the first 53 minutes. He was confident that if they played that way again in Game 2, the breaks would go their way and they would split the series.
The Sabres downplayed Sturm's pre-series comments when they first came out, which seemed like a directive from their head coach, Lindy Ruff. Ruff also took the high road when asked about it, but for parts of Game 1 and all of Game 2, it started to become clear that the Sabres were also out to prove Sturm wrong instead of just winning a crucial game.
The Bruins aren't too concerned about getting into a physical game with the Sabres, thanks to the inadequacy of Buffalo's powerplay. Ironically, a powerplay that looked bad for the Bruins during the regular season has also looked great through the first two games. Boston likely wants to get in a special teams battle after seeing how it played out on the ice.
Lindy Ruff and Sabres can't shake Marco Sturm's comments
For a group that downplayed Sturm's comments before Game 1, it was surprising to see Buffalo's head coach bring it up again after Boston's win in Game 2. The game took a physical turn thanks to some agitators on the Bruins, and the Sabres completely lost the plot in trying to match the physicality. Considering Ruff is still talking about it, it feels like he might've also made it a talking point during the series' first two games.
The more he brings it up, methinks the gentleman doth protest too much. https://t.co/1FWCYUvZsC
— steve conroy (@conroyherald) April 22, 2026
The Sabres' desire to match the Bruins' physicality indirectly led to Tage Thompson and some other key players missing the second half of the third period in Game 2. As Buffalo started to rally, their top scorer sat in the penalty box, unable to help, and didn't exit until 1:30 remained in the game.
Some thought Sturm was out of his mind by calling out the Sabres before Game 1. However, it's starting to look like the head coach received exactly the reaction he was looking for. Sturm might be playing chess, not checkers, in the coaching world.
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