The Boston Bruins were overwhelmed in a 6-1 Game 4 defeat against the Buffalo Sabres on Sunday, falling right into a 3-1 deficit of their first-round playoff series.
Buffalo set the tone early, striking 4 times in a primary period that saw Boston repeatedly punished for turnovers. Peyton Krebs opened the scoring 4:17 into the sport, followed quickly by Josh Doan and Zach Benson, who each made essentially the most of the Bruins giveaways from Fraser Minten and Elias Lindholm. Bowen Byram added one other before the primary intermission, giving the Sabres a 4-0 lead after just 14:24. Boston was outshot 19-5 within the opening frame.
Bruins head coach Marco Sturm called a timeout in an try and halt the collapse, however the momentum didn’t shift. Buffalo pressed its advantage within the third period, with Beck Malenstyn and Alex Tuch scoring 84 seconds apart to push the rating to 6-0. That stretch ended Jeremy Swayman’s night after he allowed six goals on 23 saves, ending with a .793 save percentage. Joonas Korpisalo entered in relief and stopped all six shots he faced.
Boston had its best frame within the second period, ending with a 10-4 shot margin, but still did not rating. The Bruins finished with 24 shots, the Sabres’ 35, and were charged with 17 giveaways. Their power play went 0-for-1, while Buffalo went 0-for-2 and stays with out a goal, now at 15 straight probabilities within the series and 37 overall.
It was such a bewildering performance that even Sturm was left speechless.
“I am unable to, I actually cannot. I do not know,” said Sturm. “I actually do not know. In the event you’re a Boston Bruin and playing at home, you ought to be very excited going right into a playoff game. We didn’t [play well]. … I’m embarrassed. We must always all be embarrassed.”
Boston avoided a shutout when Sean Kuraly scored a short-handed goal in the ultimate minute. Tempers also flared when Nikita Zadorov was assessed a five-minute cross-checking penalty and game misconduct after a success on Rasmus Dahlin, with possible further discipline pending.
The Bruins at the moment are in deep water, trailing 3-1 and dragging the residue of a blowout behind them. As if that weren’t enough, Game 5 awaits them on hostile ice Tuesday.
The Boston Bruins were overwhelmed in a 6-1 Game 4 defeat against the Buffalo Sabres on Sunday, falling right into a 3-1 deficit of their first-round playoff series. Buffalo set the tone early, striking 4 times in a primary period that saw Boston repeatedly punished for turnovers.