The Buffalo Sabres and Boston Bruins were trending in opposite directions before the NHL schedule reached a three-day holiday break earlier this week.
As the teams meet Saturday at Buffalo, a seven-game win streak has propelled the Sabres to within one point of the Bruins in the Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference wild-card standings.
Boston is looking to reverse course on the road after losing the final four games of a five-game homestand before Christmas (0-3-1).
Buffalo remained undefeated since Dec. 8 with a 3-2 overtime win over the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday. The win streak is the Sabres’ longest since a 10-game run in November of 2018.
“(The belief within the team) hasn’t wavered at all,” Sabres forward Alex Tuch said. “We have everyone contributing, we have everyone playing really good defense, we’re not giving up too much. It’s winning hockey. This is what we’ve been building towards.”
Sabres defenseman Bowen Byram scored his team-leading third game-winning goal of the season 31 seconds into overtime against the Senators. It capped a two-goal, one-assist performance.
Not only has the Buffalo blue line contributed to the league’s second-best penalty kill (84.5%), coach Lindy Ruff emphasized the importance of work on the offensive end as well. Rasmus Dahlin is tied for ninth among NHL defensemen in points (28), while Byram has points in back-to-back contests.
“It’s been a big part of our offense with our (defense) getting involved,” Ruff said. “From (Dahlin) to (Byram) to (Mattias Samuelsson), you name it, our D has been able to jump up. … I really liked (Byram’s game Sunday) in New Jersey and I thought his game (in Ottawa) was even better.”
Boston has had an opposite story of late, allowing six goals in back-to-back games and at least five goals in four of the last six. The Montreal Canadiens scored four goals in the third and cruised past the Bruins 6-2 on Tuesday.
The Bruins entered their recent homestand on Dec. 16 just one point behind the division-leading Detroit Red Wings, while the Sabres were still two points deep in the conference’s cellar. Since then, Boston and Buffalo have joined a group of eight teams separated by just three points.
“It’s terrible, it stinks. Really, this whole homestand going into break, it’s unfortunate,” Boston forward Alex Steeves said. “But I think it’s moments like these where you find out how tight the group is. I know we have a tight group and I know we’ll bounce back from this and we’ll be stronger because of it.”
Steeves and Marat Khusnutdinov scored Boston’s goals against Montreal. Khusnutdinov is riding a three-game point streak.
Staying out of the penalty box has been an issue all season for the Bruins. They have been whistled for 25 more penalties than any other team in the NHL (193), and Tuesday marked their second time this season going shorthanded seven times in a game.
“I think everyone has to ask himself, ‘Do I really have to take that penalty?'” Bruins coach Marco Sturm said. “Those are big deals because they could cost us games, points. Those kinds of points, we will need at the end of the year. So, it definitely has to get better.”
Boston forward Viktor Arvidsson returned from a lower-body injury on Tuesday for his first game action since Dec. 11. He recorded an assist.
