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7:00 P.M.: Bruins Look To Take Series Lead Over Sabres In Front Of Boston Crowd
Boston (Sports Network) - The Buffalo Sabres will try to bounce back from a Game 2 loss tonight when they visit the Boston Bruins for the third meeting of the best-of-seven Eastern Conference quarterfinals at TD Garden.
The third-seeded Sabres, champions of the Northeast Division, dropped a 5-3 decision on Saturday to allow the rival Bruins to square this series at one game apiece. Buffalo led the game 2-0 after one period and held a 3-2 advantage after 40 minutes, but couldn’t hold on for the win.
On top of the setback, Buffalo also lost its leading goal-scorer, Thomas Vanek, who left in the first period with a lower-body injury and did not return.
Vanek's status for tonight's game is doubtful, though his return to this series at some point hasn't been ruled out. The Austrian winger led Buffalo with 28 goals this year despite missing 11 games during the regular season due to injuries. Vanek could be replaced in the lineup by Drew Stafford, who has been out due to concussion-like symptoms.
After falling behind 2-0 in the first period, the Bruins were able to regroup for the Game 2 victory. Michael Ryder and Zdeno Chara scored two minutes apart early in the third period to put Boston ahead for the first time in the game and Mark Recchi scored an empty-netter in the final minute to secure the victory.
Ryder and Chara each finished with two goals, while Tuukka Rask made 26 saves for sixth-seeded Boston, which lost Game 1 on Thursday by a 2-1 score.
“We had a tough year overall, but its a whole new season come playoff time. It’s definitely a good time to start scoring,” said Ryder. “I think we have a lot of confidence now and doing a lot of things to create offense and get chances.”
Buffalo goaltender Ryan Miller made 38 saves in Game 1, but he was beaten four times on 30 shots in Saturday's loss. Tyler Myers, Matt Ellis and Jason Pominville had the Sabres' goals.
“Trying to mix and match lines after that, we seemed to have lost a little energy there,” Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff said. “I thought we got it back with eight minutes left in the second. It seemed pretty quiet, we didn’t get much going on.”
Boston won four of the six regular-season meetings between the clubs and the Bruins have also claimed five of their seven all-time playoff encounters against the Sabres.
The Bruins, who will also host Game 4 on Wednesday, were not a great home team this year, going 18-17-6 at the Garden. The Sabres had a solid 20-17-4 mark on the road.
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