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 Last Week's Loss, The B's Put The Sabres Back In Their Place-The Gutter-With A 5-2 Win

 

    I cannot get enough of these thrilling Bruins (29-14-6 overall, 15-6-3)-Sabres (13-31-7 overall, 7-15-3 road) games this season, who's with me? Haha just kidding, I am completely sick of watching Buffalo try to play hockey as I'm sure that you are too. Thankfully after tonight's 5-2 victory by the B's at the TD Garden, Boston improved to 6-1 against Buffalo in 2021 with only one matchup left on Saturday afternoon (1, NESN). Five different Bruins scored goals and goaltender Tuukka Rask (29 saves, 13-4-2) avenged last Friday's 6-4 loss in Buffalo with this victory. In the East Division playoff outlook, fourth-place Boston kept pace (only 1 point behind with a game in hand) with the third-place Islanders (30-15-5) who won 4-0 at the Rangers (26-19-6) tonight at Madison Square Garden. 

    The black and gold were all about the early and late goals in the first period as right wing David Pastrnak's one-timer gave them a 1-0 lead at 1:16. Center Patrice Bergeron and left wing Brad Marchand had the assists on Pasta's 19th goal of the season. Sabres center Casey Mittlestadt tied it at one when he put in a juicy rebound at 14:09 of the first period. Right wing Arttu Ruotsalainen and left wing Rasmus Asplund picked up the assists on Mittlestadt's 10th goal of the season. Buzzer beaters are typically present in basketball games and not hockey but that was flipped tonight as Krejci scored a one-timer with less than one second left in the first period. BU's Charlie McAvoy and Craig Smith had the assists on Krejci's power play goal (his 8th goal of the season).  

    After no goals in the second period, things got tense for a bit in the third period as the Sabres tied it again. Right wing Sam Reinhardt found himself alone in front of Rask and left wing Victor Olofsson hit him with a pass from behind the net thru traffic. Buffalo's leading goal-scorer didn't skip a beat as left wing Jeff Skinner added the second assist on Reinhart's 23rd goal of the season at 1:43. BU's Charlie Coyle picked a great time to break his 28-game goalless streak with a sweet individual move and finish at 7:58. His sixth goal of the season was unassisted which seems fitting with how much he's been a ghost this season. Krejci continued to play great as he dangled around two helpless Sabres defensemen before feeding left wing Taylor Hall for the easy one-timer. Hall's seventh goal of the season (5th as a Bruin) was also assisted by right wing Craig Smith at 16:43. Marshy's empty-netter and team-high 27th goal of the season at 1826 made it 5-2 in favor of the road team.

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.