Live Updates For Boston Bruins at Buffalo Sabres in First Round of Stanley Cup Playoffs (Game 1)
The Boston Bruins are getting ready for their first game against the Buffalo Sabres in the opening round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, N.Y., on Sunday night.
Boston enters the playoffs as the No. 5 seed out of the Eastern Conference after earning a 45-27-10 record and 100 points while Buffalo enters as the No. 4 seed after going 50-23-9 and 109 points in the regular season.
During the regular season, the two teams met a total of four times with the Bruins winning three of those contests.
The Bruins took the first two games, the first 3-1 on Oct. 11, 2025, and the second 4-3 in overtime on Oct. 30, both at home. The Sabres took the first game in Buffalo 4-1 on Dec. 27, but lost 4-3 in overtime in the fourth game on March 25 which was also in Buffalo.
Jeremy Swayman will start in the net for the Bruins. This season, Swayman has played in 55 games and boasted a 2.71 goals against average and a .908 save percentage as well as is credited with two saves.
In the other net will be Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen for the Sabres. In the regular season, Luukkonen has started in 34 games and tallied a 2.52 goals against average as well as a .910 save percentage and has one shutout under his belt.
Live Updates:
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3rd
- 0:00 | Buffalo wins the face-off and knocks the puck away to run out the clock. The Sabres take Game 1. The full game story can be found here. Buffalo 4, Boston 3.
- 0:08 | Not over yet-- David Pastrnak gets Boston back within one on a backhand shot, but time is not in the Bruins' favor. Buffalo 4, Boston 3.
- 1:12 | Alex Tuch knocks in the empty netter and that should do it from Buffalo. Buffalo 4, Boston 3.
- 3:24 | Buffalo takes the lead on a goal from Mattias Samuelsson. Buffalo 3, Boston 2.
- 4:16 | Tage Thompson banks in the equalizer for the Sabres and this game is tied late. Boston 2, Buffalo 2.
- 7:58 | Buffalo gets on the board and cuts its deficit in half with a goal from the team's leading scorer Tage Thompson. Boston 2, Buffalo 1.
- 15:19 | The Bruins get a big penalty kill and the Sabres come up empty handed again.
- 17:19 | The Sabres are on the power play. Boston's David Pastrnak is called for slashing on
Josh Dunne.
- 18:52 | Elias Lindholm extends the Bruins' lead with a goal. Morgan Geekie and David Pastrnak get the assist. Boston 2, Buffalo 0.
2nd
- 0:00 | The final buzzer sounds and the middle frame is done. Boston is 20 minutes away from its first playoff win. Boston 1, Buffalo 0.
- 5:18 | The Bruins get the kill. Neither team has been able to execute on the power play tonight. The Bruins and Sabres are a combined 0-for-5.
- 7:18 | Buffalo is back on the power play as Boston's Andrew Peeke is called for holding.
- 17:33 | The Bruins get the kill and both teams are back to full strength.
- 19:33 | Boston's Pavel Zacha is called for holding. The Bruins and Sabres will be on a 4-on-4 for 23 seconds, then Buffalo will be on the power play for 1:33.
1st
- 0:00 | The buzzer sounds and the first frame is in the books. Boston heads into the first intermission with the lead. Boston 1, Buffalo 0.
- 1:10 | Boston will end the period on the power play and will spend the first 50 seconds of the second frame on the power play as well. Buffalo's Jason Zucker gets called for holding.
- 3:15 | The Bruins record the penalty kill which featured three big saves by goalie Jeremy Swayman, one which got him shoved into the net. He has 13 saves on the night so far.
- 5:15 | Now, Buffalo is headed onto the power play. Boston defenseman Nikita Zadorov draws a Cross-checking penalty on Peyton Krebs.
- 5:57 | The Sabres kill off the penalty. Going into the postseason, Buffalo ranked fourth in the league in penalty kill percentage at 81.9%.
- 7:57 | The Bruins are going on the power play. Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin is called for hooking on Morgan Geekie. All the momentum is in Boston's favor at the moment.
- 9:08 | Boston strikes first with a goal off a rebound shot by Morgan Geekie. David Pastrnak and Nikita Zadorov each pick up an assist on the sore. Boston 1, Buffalo 0.
- 13:40 | We're scoreless in Buffalo early. Each team has taken a shot on goal and have two blocked shots.
Pregame
The Game 1 lineup. pic.twitter.com/VujoZ2oF4a
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) April 19, 2026
- Puck drop is set for 7:30 p.m. ET.
How to Watch:
Who: Boston Bruins and Buffalo Sabres
When: Sunday, April 19 at 7:30 p.m. ET
Where: KeyBank Center, Buffalo, N.Y.
TV: ESPN, NESN, MSG-B
Radio: 98.5 The Sports Hub
Last Outing, Buffalo: The Sabres suffered a 4-3 shootout loss to the Dallas Stars at home on Wednesday night.
Last Outing, Boston: The Bruins earned a 4-0 home win over the New Jersey Devils at home on Tuesday night.
Last Meeting: The last time these two teams met was on March 25. The Bruins beat the Sabres 4-3 in overtime at Buffalo.
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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.