Causeway Crowd
Fansided

Morgan Geekie Rescues Bruins With Game-Winning Goal Against Sabres

Morgan Geekie's third period goal lifted the Bruins over the Sabres Saturday night at the TD Garden.

ByScott Roche|
Dec 21, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Bruins goaltender Joonas Korpisalo (70) fights off a shot by his mask during the second period against the Buffalo Sabres at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-Imagn Images
Dec 21, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Bruins goaltender Joonas Korpisalo (70) fights off a shot by his mask during the second period against the Buffalo Sabres at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-Imagn Images | Winslow Townson-Imagn Images

One of the hardest games on an NHL schedule over an 82-game season is the first home game after a lengthy road trip. For the Boston Bruins, they were facing a double whammy Saturday night at the TD Garden. After completing a five-game, nine-day road trip out West, the Black and Gold returned home with less than 48 hours between their last game in Edmonton and hosting the Buffalo Sabres.

Speaking of the Sabres, they came into the game losers of 12 straight games, going 0-9-3 over that span with their latest loss Friday night at home against the Toronto Maple Leafs. If there was ever a time for the Bruins to be caught off guard, it was Saturday night. However, despite looking like a team that is fresh off a long road trip playing their first game at home in 14 days, they dug deep to avoid being laughed at by the rest of the NHL world.

Morgan Geekie & Joonas Korpisalo lead Bruins over Sabres

Tied 1-1 through two periods with the Sabres, you had to wonder if the Bruins had anything left in the tank to win the game and third period against a desperate team. Buffalo hung around and even caught a break when Morgan Geekie appeared to give the Black and Gold a 2-1 lead eight minutes into the third period, but they challenged for off-sides and won.

As frustrating as it may have been, the Bruins didn't let it stop them from collecting a valuable two points. With 1:45 left in the game and Boston's third power play opportunity of the game about to expire, Geekie took a pass from David Pastrnak and ripped the game-winning goal past James Reimer for a 2-1 lead. Brad Marchand sealed the win with an empty-net goal 23 seconds later for the 3-1 final.

Aside from Geekie, another reason for the Bruins avoiding an embarrassing loss was goalie Joonas Korpisalo who turned back 19 of the 20 shots fired at him and some of those saves were point-blank. When he was acquired from the Ottawa Senators as part of the Linus Ullmark trade, many people wondered how he would fare in Boston and so far, so good.

Things don't get easier for Boston as they will host the Washington Capitals on Monday night at the TD Garden before the Christmas Break. This will be a good test for the interim coach Joe Sacco and his team as the Capitals have been one of the biggest surprises this season.

Home/Bruins News