Sabres snap 8-game road winless streak with well-rounded effort in Boston: 5 Takeaways

BOSTON – Owen Power knew he and the Buffalo Sabres were running out of time.

Power stickhandled to his left as the Boston Bruins’ three penalty-killers scrambled to try to take away his passing options in overtime Monday night at TD Garden. And, as Alex Tuch stood in front of goalie Joonas Korpisalo, Power snapped a shot toward the net.

The puck was tipped by Tuch for the game-winning goal with 11 seconds remaining, as the Sabres began their four-game road trip with a 3-2 victory in Boston.

“Just trying to get something going with the time we had,” said Power, who also scored his seventh goal of the season and blocked three shots.

Tuch’s 26th goal of the season capped a chaos-filled overtime in which the Sabres had six shots on goal and hit the post twice. Bruins star winger David Pastrnak also dove in his crease to prevent Tuch from scoring. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made a pair of saves, including a stop on Nikita Zadorov as the Bruins defenseman barreled toward Buffalo’s net.

The Sabres limited the Bruins to 19 shots on goal, 17 in regulation, and five high-danger scoring chances at 5 on 5, according to Natural Stat Trick.

It was the type of fast-paced, disciplined performance coach Lindy Ruff has wanted to see from his team on the road all season. Buffalo snapped an eight-game winless streak away from KeyBank Center dating to Jan. 21 and, as important, it limited an Atlantic Division opponent to only two goals. Luukkonen was perfect after Morgan Geekie scored on a breakaway with 4:47 left in the first period to give Boston a 2-1 lead.

“I think if we clean up our road play, that’ll give us a good shot of making the playoffs every year,” said Krebs, referring to the Sabres’ 10-19-3 record away from Buffalo. “Teams that have the best road record seem to make the playoffs. We have to continue to build off this, play the right way and good things will happen.”

The Sabres looked faster and better prepared than the Bruins at the start of the game. Krebs’ power-play goal 4:19 into the first period gave Buffalo a 1-0 lead, and Boston didn’t have a shot on goal until 7:31 into the game. Trouble began when penalties taken by Sam Lafferty and Connor Clifton gave the Bruins a 5-on-3 power play for 51 seconds.

Luukkonen made a save and multiple Sabres blocked shots to escape the odd-man situation, but Boston gained momentum and a crowd of 17,850 began to roar each time a Bruins player had the puck. Geekie and Pavel Zacha scored in a span of 2:13 to pull Boston ahead. The Sabres responded by shutting them down for most of the game.

“We came out really good in the game and then we took a couple penalties that we shouldn’t take,” Ruff lamented. “You want to win on the road, you can’t take the penalties we took. … It took a little while to recover. It gave them some energy in their own building, but I thought from the second period on again we got right back on track.”

Power scored the tying goal on a short-side shot with 7:12 left in the second period, and the Bruins had only nine shots on goal between the second and third periods. Luukkonen made several clutch saves, including a stop on Pastrnak’s breakaway.

The Sabres allowed 40 goals, or five per game, in their eight consecutive road losses, and they had allowed 4.05 goals per game in 17 meetings against divisional opponents. Luukkonen entered Monday with an. 898 save percentage against those seven teams. Those issues need to be corrected if they’re going to be a playoff contender next season. 

The Sabres also need to start beating the Bruins, who are falling out of the playoff race with a 3-8-3 record in their last 14 games. Buffalo is 3-3-1 in its last seven games against Boston and, though the Sabres are still in last place in the Eastern Conference with a 27-33-6 record, winning in TD Garden with three top forwards out of the line – JJ Peterka, Josh Norris and Jiri Kulich – was a resilient showing for a team that’s trying to build toward next season.

“Definitely some areas where we’ve got to clean up, but overall, it was a solid road game and obviously nice to get the win in overtime,” said Power.

Here are other takeaways from the game:

1. Message sent

Jordan Greenway didn’t hesitate.

The Sabres’ 6-foot-6 winger confronted Zadorov immediately after the Bruins’ defenseman’s late hit on Tage Thompson in the first period. Greenway didn’t have to challenge Zadorov, either. The latter dropped his glove when approached by Greenway, and the two traded punches until they wrestled to the ice.

It wasn’t the last time they exchanged words. Zadorov’s hit on Thompson in the second period caused Greenway to skate over to mediate the situation. It may not seem like a big deal, but Greenway stepped up for a teammate two days after he fought Vegas winger Keegan Kolesar.

“You don’t have to fight every time, but the guy’s got to know that if he’s gonna try to take out our top player that he’s gonna get ran too and things are going to happen like that,” said Krebs. “We’re just trying to play a hard game, physical and not get pushed around.”

2. Shooting

Ruff wanted to see Krebs shoot the puck more often, and the center delivered in Boston.

Krebs scored on the power play with a shot from the bumper spot for his sixth goal of the season and second in six games. He had only 58 shots on goal in 64 games entering Wednesday, but he had three in the first period and four in the game. His effort and reliable defense will continue to earn him more ice time and opportunity. He was on the ice when Tuch scored the game-winning goal.

“Great shot,” Ruff said of Krebs' goal. “He found the hole and got rewarded for shooting.  If he continues down that path, the production will be greater.”

3. Changes

The Bruins’ two first-period goals were a reminder that the Sabres need to revamp their defense corps this summer.

Bowen Byram and Jacob Bryson lost their sticks on a shift that ended with Zacha tying it 1-1, then Mattias Samuelsson allowed Geekie to get behind him for the breakaway goal that gave the Bruins a 2-1 lead. Samuelsson needed to do more to get the puck away from Geekie when the Bruins forward was skating in alone on Luukkonen.

Byram rebounded to play 24:01 and Power was outstanding, but the Sabres need to evaluate who can play with those two and Rasmus Dahlin next season. It's time to give Jacob Bernard-Docker an opportunity during the final 15 games. He's only practiced with the team twice since the trade with Ottawa, but he can help the penalty kill and block shots.

4. Notable stats

Ryan McLeod skated a career-high 23:58 and won a team-high eight faceoffs. … Thompson and Tuch combined for 11 of the Sabres’ 30 shots on goal. … The Sabres scored multiple power-play goals in a game for the first time since Jan. 2. … Rasmus Dahlin played a team-high 24:34 and finished with four shots on goal on seven shot attempts. … The Bruins blocked 24 shots.

5. Next

The Sabres face Utah Hockey Club in Salt Lake City on Thursday at 9 p.m., and Buffalo finishes the trip with games in Minnesota and Winnipeg on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.