The Boston Bruins' Game 6 loss to the Buffalo Sabres ended their Stanley Cup Playoff run early, confirming to all the doubters that this team was a bit too far off to justify standing pat at the trade deadline and attempting to contend. However, those same people might've been a bit too quick to forget that the Bruins were eight minutes away from potentially having a 2-0 series lead heading back to Boston.
The Bruins dominated Game 1, giving fans dreams of a miraculous playoff run thanks to the play of Jeremy Swayman and a path that featured some questionable playoff teams in the Atlantic Division. They had taken a 2-0 lead deep in the third period before the Sabres rallied off three goals in four-and-a-half minutes to crush any dream the fans had.
Who knows whether a Bruins Game 1 win would've motivated the Sabres to bounce back in Game 2 and end up with the same 1-1 series tie, but the reality is that Boston looked great again in that second game, and if they had played that way, they might've left Buffalo up 2-0. It would've meant nothing if they continued to choke at TD Garden, but a path to success was there if they had just managed to hold on in Game 1.
The Sabres went on to face a Montreal Canadiens team that managed to win in seven games but looked like a team that was relying too much on their goaltending. The Sabres dominated play for much of that series, and with the way the Bruins looked at times in the Buffalo series, they could've done the same thing to Montreal. Boston did own a 2-1-1 record against them in the regular season.
It is all just speculation that the remainder of the next two series would've played out in Boston's favor. Still, everyone lambasting the Bruins for their performance in Round 1 had quickly forgotten just how close they were to that Game 1 victory. In the spirit of the return of the popular show Ted Lasso and his Richmond Football Club, belief is a powerful thing, and all the fortunes might've changed for the Bruins if they hadn't missed that opportunity to close out Game 1.
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