Buffalo looking to end series on the road
Buffalo Sabres (3-2) at Boston Bruins (2-3)
Puck Drop: 7:30 PM ET | TD Garden | Boston, Massachusetts
TV: TNT, HBO MAX, MSG-B
Radio: WGR 550
Know Your Opponent
Boston Bruins
Record: 45-27-10 | 100 PTS
Division Ranking: 4th in the Atlantic Division
Last Game: Beat the Sabres 2-1 (OT)
PP: 12.5% | Sabres 5.0%
PK: 95% | Sabres 87.5%
What to Watch
1. Finish Him!
By allowing the Bruins to win in Game 5 the Sabres have given them hope that they will want to feed off tonight at TD Garden. Buffalo are 2-0 in Boston and need to snuff out any signs of that optimism by scoring early and often like they did in Game 4.
The longer the Bruins stay in the game the bolder they’ll get, which is why the Sabres need to activate their suffocating forecheck early in the game to keep them hemmed in and force them to turn the puck over.
2. All Facets To The Fore
The power play finally showed up last game with Rasmus Dahlin scoring with the man advantage for the first time this series. The penalty kill has done well too, and both units will need to be at their best tonight.
On the brink of elimination, the Bruins will get more and more desperate as the minutes tick down especially if the Sabres are in the lead. Buffalo will just have to play smart, not get suckered into needless brawls or make mistakes that will let them off the hook.
3. Playing With House Money
The Bruins played mistake-free hockey in the last elimination game in Buffalo, heaping the pressure back on the home team. Despite giving up the first goal early on, they didn’t fold and once again Swayman stood on his head while the rest of the Bruins got sticks in the way of shots to do enough to foil the Sabres.
The Sabres have worn the Bruins down later in games, but have had the most success when they have heaped the pressure on them right off the bat, and that will be the what Lindy Ruff will be looking for his side to do tonight.
Projected Lineups
Buffalo Sabres
Forwards:
Krebs – Thompson – Tuch
Zucker – McLeod – Quinn
Benson – Norris – Doan
Greenway – Kozak – Malenstyn
Defense:
Samuelsson – Dahlin
Byram – Power
Stanley* – Timmins
(Stanley is recovering from an illness, Kesselring will step in if he’s out)
Goalies:
Lyon, Luukkonen
Boston Bruins
Forwards:
Khusnutdinov – Zacha – Pastrnak
Mittelstadt – Lindholm – Geekie
Steeves – Minten – Eyssimont
Jeannot – Kuraly – Kastelic
Defense:
Aspirot – McAvoy
H. Lindholm – Jokiharju
Zadorov – Peeke
Goalies:
Swayman, Korpisalo