Behind Craig Smith's Hat Trick, Boston Beats Buffalo 6-2 To Finish 7-1 Vs. The Sabres In 2021

 

    After playing Buffalo (13-32-7 overall, 7-16-3 away) approximately 25 times in the past few weeks, selfishly I am happy to report that I don't have to say anything else about the worst team in the NHL for a long time after Boston (30-14-6 overall, 16-6-3 home) easily dispatched them 6-2 this afternoon at the TD Garden. Right wing Craig Smith recorded his second career hat trick, center David Krejci added three assists and the B's closed out the season series (7-1 Boston) in dominant fashion. The Bruins inched closer to clinching a playoff spot plus they are only one point behind the Islanders (31-15-5) and three points in back of the Capitals (32-14-5) for third-place and second-place respectively in the East Division. 

    The black and gold never really gave the Sabres much hope all game as they outshot them 43-19, led 2-1 after the first period and 3-1 heading into the third period to cruise to the valuable two points. Rookie goaltender Jeremy Swayman (17 saves, 6-2-0) could have taken a nap in the crease for most of the contest and it wouldn't have changed the final outcome. With the recent addition of left wing Taylor Hall, Boston's second forward line has really taken off. Playing with Hall and Smith, Krejci's career has been revitalized. That trio combined for a pretty goal at 1:21 of the first period as Smith re-directed in a pass from Krejci with the secondary assist going to Hall. Sabres center Riley Sheahan responded with a shorthanded goal at 12:35 as he found himself on a breakaway and beat Swayman for his fourth goal of the season, assisted by PC's Jacob Bryson and center Casey Mittelstadt. B's center Sean Kuraly helped put his team ahead again when he knocked in a rebound at 16:38. Left wing Nick Ritchie had the lone assist on Kuraly's third goal of the season. 

    Captain Patrice Bergeron had the lone tally of the second period and it was a similar one to Kuraly's: he followed up a rebound and used a backhander (unlike Sean) to hit the puck over the goal line. Defenseman Jeremy Lauzon and left wing Brad Marchand provided the assists on Bergeron's 19th goal of the season that turned out to be the game-winner. Not surprisingly, the wheels came off for Buffalo in the third period. Ritchie tipped in a shot from defenseman Matt Grzelcyk for a 3-1 Bruins lead at 3:18. Fellow defenseman Kevan Miller added the other assist on Ritchie's 12th goal of the season. Smith's second goal was another pretty one when defenseman Mike Reilly (what a pickup he's been as well!) fed him in front for the simple tap in. Krejci had the other assist on Smith's second goal of the game that helped Boston's lead balloon to 5-1. 

    Sabres right wing Arttu Ruotsalainen scored the other useless goal for Buffalo that cut it to 5-2 at 7:02. He was on the doorstep and therefore in good position to sneak a rebound through Swayman's five-hole. Left wing Rasmus Asplund and Mittelstadt were credited with the helpers on the young Finn's fifth goal of the season. All that there was left to do was get Smith his hat trick and he did just that thanks to one last assist from Krejci. Smith basically put his stick on the ice and Krejci was able to fire the puck right on the money so Craig could redirect it in at 14:05. BU's Charlie Coyle notched the second assist on the memorable power play goal that resulted in Smith's first ever hat trick as a Bruin. 

    We are only a few weeks away from the start of the playoffs. In fact, the B's remaining schedule is down to six games as they head to New Jersey (17-27-7 overall, 6-17-3 home) to play the Devils on Monday (7, NESN Plus) and Tuesday (7, NESN Plus). For some bizarre reason, the Bruins have struggled against New Jersey all season (2-3-1) who are the second worst team in the East Division and one of the worst in the entire league. By now, New Jersey must want to get this miserable campaign over with ASAP so hopefully the B's can take advantage of their collective disinterest and win this back-to-back to collect four more points.

After Going 0-5 Vs. The Bruins, The Sabres Finally Beat Them 6-4 Behind Sam Reinhart's Hat Trick

 

    I'm not going to say that the worst team in the NHL was due for a win but the Sabres (13-28-7) found a way to beat the Bruins (27-13-6) for the first time this season, 6-4 this evening at the KeyBank Center. The loss snapped Boston's season-high six-game winning streak and also their bid for a perfect campaign against Buffalo (now 5-1 with 2 games left to play). It wasn't B's goaltender Tuukka Rask's night (24 saves) either as he got pulled early in the third period and backup goaltender Jaroslav Halak made his first appearance since April 3 after he tested positive for Covid-19. Boston won on Tuesday and last night as well in Buffalo so it's tough to be too hard on them, still any loss to the Sabres these days is a really bad one. 

    Center Patrice Bergeron was a last-minute scratch for the B's with a foot injury (from blocking a shot on Thursday), that meant that BU's Charlie Coyle took his spot on the top line. Boston actually scored first before Buffalo buried them with a barrage of five goals in a row. Defenseman Steven Kampfer made it 1-0 in favor of the black and gold with a snipe off the post and in at 2:15 of the first period. Left wing Taylor Hall and Rask provided the assists on Kampfer's second goal of the season. After going 0-for-11 in the previous two tilts this week against Boston, Buffalo's power play went 2-for-3 tonight. Center Sam Reinhart tied it with a power play tally at 15:40. Defenseman Rasmus Dahlin and left wing Victor Olofsson had the assists on Reinhart's team-leading 18th goal of the season. 

    Things started to fall apart for the Bruins in the second period as Dahlin made it 2-1 at 6:54 (his 5th goal of the season was assisted by center Riley Sheahan and left wing Tobias Rieder) then center Casey Mittelstadt put the Sabres up 3-1 at 14:17. UConn's Tage Thompson and rookie defenseman Mattias Samuelsson (1st NHL point) picked up the helpers on Mittelstadt's ninth goal of the season. It only got worse for the B's early in the third period as Buffalo continued to pour it on. Rookie right wing Arttu Ruotsalainen gave the Sabres a three-goal lead (something I'm sure they have not experienced too often this season) at 1:14. Center Dylan Cozens and Samuelsson had the assists on Ruotsalainen's fourth goal of the season and his second in two nights. That's when Rask's outing was over and things didn't start much better for Halak since Reinhart got another power play goal at 4:30. 

    That's when Boston mercifully remembered who they are (and who the Sabres are) because they rattled off three straight goals to briefly cut it to a one-goal game (5-4) late in the third. Left wing Nick Ritchie scored his 12th goal of the season at 12:06 (assisted by Kamper and right wing Jake DeBrusk) and it was also his second game in a row with a tally after he had gone 13 consecutive games without one. Defenseman Kevan Miller scored his first regular season goal since December 2017, cutting it to 5-3 at 15:25 (Kampfer and left wing Sean Kuraly notched the assists on that one). I have to admit that I thought Buffalo would blow it when left wing Taylor Hall's attempted pass deflected into the net past rookie goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (36 saves) who was making his NHL debut. Hall famously had just two goals for Buffalo this season and that was already his third in a Bruins uniform with defenseman Charlie McAvoy and center David Krejci registering assists on that goal at 17:12. Boston had plenty of time left to tie it but they couldn't and it was over when Reinhardt put in an empty-net goal at 19:18. 

    I can't imagine how badly that the Bruins wanted to get out of Buffalo after spending at least the past four days there. Their reward is a trip to Pittsburgh (30-14-3) where they will meet the Penguins on Sunday afternoon (3, NBC) and then the rematch on Tuesday (7, NESN). Boston is 4-2 against Pittsburgh in 2021 so this two-game set will close their season series. The Pens are three points ahead of the B's while Boston has a game in hand. If they want to have a chance to catch them, they can't afford to get swept. Conversely, if the Bruins can win both games, the East Division will be complete chaos down the stretch.

After Last Night's 5-1 Easy Win Vs. The Sabres, The B's Are Enjoying An Extended Stay In Buffalo

 

    Things couldn't be working out much better for the Bruins (27-12-6 overall, 13-6-3 road) at the moment as they are taking full advantage of all their games against the putrid Sabres (12-28-7 overall, 5-16-4) after last night's routine 5-1 victory for the black and gold at the KeyBank Center. That gave Boston a season-high six game winning streak which can become seven tonight (7, NESN Plus) as they play one more game in Buffalo against these scrubs. 12 different Bruins had points and rookie goaltender Jeremy Swayman (5-1-0) made 29 saves as the B's improved to a perfect 5-0 against the Sabres in 2021. There are three more layups, oops I mean games left to go with the worst team in the NHL.

    This installment was close for two periods since Boston led 2-1 going into the third before they broke it open with three goals in the final 20 minutes. It's hard to take too much from these glorified exhibition games but it was nice to see all five of the Bruins' goals come 5-on-5 while their penalty kill is a combined 11-for-11 in their last two meetings with Buffalo. Left wing Brad Marchand staked the B's to an early 1-0 lead when he put in a rebound past Sabres goaltender Dustin Tokarski (33 saves, 2-7-2). Center Patrice Bergeron and defenseman Mike Reilly had the assists at 12:36 on Marchand's team-leading 25th goal of the season. 

          Buffalo right wing Arttu Ruotsalainen tied it at 5:27 of the second period with his third goal of the season. It was the only highlight of the night for the home team as former Bruin Anders Bjork fed Ruotsalainen for the tap-in after center Dylan Cozens had stole the puck along the boards in Boston's defensive zone. BU's Matt Grzelcyk put Boston ahead for good with a wrist shot that Tokarski should have grabbed at 12:50 of the second period. Fellow Terrier alum Charlie McAvoy and right wing David Pastrnak registered the assists on Grzelcyk's fourth goal of the season.  

    You could feel Buffalo's souls leave their bodies in the third period as the Bruins ruthlessly ran up the score on them. Pasta's goal was a pretty one as he drove to the right then shot a low hard shot against the grain that Tokarski had no chance to stop. His 18th goal of the season came at 4:55 and it was assisted by Marchand and Grzelcyk. Left wing Nick Ritchie broke his cold streak with a goal at 6:01, his 11th of the season, from right wing Jake DeBrusk and BU's Charlie Coyle (300th NHL point). Poor Tokarski understandably wanted to be anywhere but there when defenseman Jeremy Lauzon's shot hit the post and center David Krejci touched in the rebound for the final tally. It was Krejci's sixth goal of the season and the secondary assist came from former Sabres great Taylor Hall at 18:02. How happy is he to be a Bruin after playing for so many terrible teams in his NHL career (Oilers, Devils, Coyotes and Sabres)? 

    No matter how much of a joke these Bruins-Sabres games appear to be, don't forget how important they are to Boston. The Rangers (23-18-6) have dropped their last two games which has allowed the Bruins to move eight points ahead of them with two games in hand. Barring a huge collapse, it looks like the Bruins will finish in the top four in the East Division but they can still move up with a strong push at the end of the regular season. The Islanders (29-13-5) are only three points ahead of them with the B's having two games in hand and one meeting left to go. The Penguins (30-14-3) are also just three points in front of Boston while the Bruins own two games in hand plus they play them twice in a row after they finally get out of Buffalo. Top seed Washington (30-13-4) is four points up on Boston but the black and gold have two games in hand and the regular season finale is against them so that could potentially mean something to both clubs.