What is the story about?
Just the facts
- When: Tonight, 7 PM
- Where: KeyBank Center – Buffalo, NY
- How to follow: NESN, 98.5 The Sports Hub
- Opposing perspective: Die by the Blade
Know your enemy
- 18-14-4, 40PTS, 7th in the Atlantic Division
- Tage Thompson: 18G-14A-32PTs; Alex Tuch: 11G-19A-30PTS; Rasmus Dahlin: 4G-24A-28PTS
- Alex Lyon: 9-6-3, 2.87 GAA, .907 save percentage
Game notes
- The Bruins return from their brief holiday break to face the NHL’s hottest team: the Buffalo Sabres? Yes, the Buffalo Sabres, winners of seven games in a row heading into the break.
- The Sabres’ recent run of form has lifted them out of the basement and firmly into wild card contention, as they currently sit two points behind Florida (albeit with several teams in between) and a point behind the Bruins.
- The inspiration for the streak? Not a healthier lineup or more solid play. It can all be attributed to the lifting of the Kevyn Adams Curse (plus those two other things). The Athletic also cites more consistent scoring contributions from up and down the lineup, which never hurts.
- Buffalo struggled through three straight losses to begin his season, then followed that up with a five-game losing streak in November. Those two streaks accounted for half of their regulation losses.
- These two teams played one another at TD Garden back on October 11, a 3-1 win for the Bruins.
- For the Bruins, it’s hard to know what to expect tonight. Was the recent skid a sign of fatigue? The impending doom of goaltending regression? Bad luck? I guess we’ll find out.
- As we saw in the Montreal game (and others during this recent run), the Bruins really, really, really need to stop shooting themselves in the collective foot with all of the penalties. Buffalo has an average power play, but it’d behoove the Bruins to not do dumb things tonight. You’re welcome for that insightful game plan.
- While the Bruins’ goaltending has faltered in recent games, Alex Lyon has been lights out for the Sabres. He has won his last five starts and also earned a win in a relief appearance back on December 9.
- The Sabres have the league’s second-best penalty kill, checking in at 84.5%.
Will
the Bruins be feeling more merry after Christmas? Will there be post-holiday blues?
TIME WILL TELL.
