Boston Bruins Drop Second Consecutive Game to Buffalo Sabres in Stanley Cup Playoffs
The Boston Bruins suffered their second consecutive loss in their series to the Buffalo Sabres 6-1 in Game 4 on Sunday afternoon at TD Garden to fall behind in the series 3-1.
Throughout the series, Buffalo has not been able to get on the board in the first period.
That was the opposite in Game 4.
The Sabres tacked four goals onto the board in the opening frame to take a 4-0 lead.
The first goal of the afternoon came at 4:17 by Sabres center Peyton Krebs off of a Bruins turnover. A little under three minutes later at 7:10, right winger Josh Doan found the back of the net off another turnover by Boston to make things 2-0.
Left winger Zach Benson got in on the action and extended Buffalo’s lead 3-0 at 9:15 while defenseman Bowen Byram added his third goal of the series to the board at 14:24 to make it 4-0. Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman’s pad got tangled up on one of his teammates which resulted in Byram’s score.
The Bruins came out more aggressive in the second period and outshot Buffalo 9-4, but could not cut into their deficit and the Sabres held their 4-0 lead heading into the second intermission.
Both teams had one power play opportunity in the second period. The Sabres got the first one at 0:46 after Boston defenseman Nikita Zadorov was called for holding and the Bruins got the other advantage at 15:59 after Sabres left winger Jordan Greenway was called for hooking. Neither team was able to capitalize on the advantage.
Sabres left winger Beck Malenstyn knocked in his first goal of the series at 5:08 in the third to make things 5-0 and right winger Alex Tuch put his third goal of the series on the board at 6:32 to add to Buffalo’s lead 6-0.
After Tuch’s goal, Joonas Korpisalo entered the game to replace Swayman in the net for the Bruins and played the remainder of the contest. In total, Swayman allowed all six goals by Buffalo and made 23 saves for a .793 save percentage.
The Bruins avoided the shutout with a rebound goal from center Sean Kuraly at 19:20 in the third to cement the 6-1 win for Buffalo.
Next up, the Bruins and Sabres will play Game 5 at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, N.Y., on Tuesday night. Puck drop is set for 7:30 p.m. ET on NESN, TNT, and truTV.
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Kim Rankin is one of the lead writers for Boston Bruins on SI and Boston College On SI. A 2020 graduate of the University of Alabama. she joined Alabama Crimson Tide On SI in February 2024 covering baseball, softball, football, men’s basketball, and more for BamaCentral, but has also contributed to Missouri Tigers On SI. She previously worked as the brand manager at Tide 100.9 FM in Tuscaloosa, Ala. She has covered a wide variety of events including SEC Championships, NCAA Regionals, and bowl games.