BUFFALO, NY – “The series doesn’t start until you win one on the road,” said Jeremy Swayman.
It’s an old cliché, but the Boston Bruins (1-1) evened their first-round series against the Buffalo Sabres (1-1) with a 4-2 win on Tuesday at KeyBank Center. Viktor Arvidsson (2) scored two goals, while Morgan Geekie (2) and Pavel Zacha (1) each helped the Bruins tie the series before heading home.
Jeremy Swayman made 32 saves in the win; he finished with 2.16 goals saved above expected in response to the Game 1 loss.
“We thought that we had a really good chance last game to finish it out, too, so I think that we fixed a lot of great things and took positives and really stayed in the moment,” Swayman added. “That’s the biggest thing for our group, is we left the past in the past and understood there was an opportunity tonight and seized it.”
Marco Sturm said he wanted more from his second line after an off-night during Game 1. He reiterated it again before Game 2, but said that he did not have to mention it to them.
Viktor Arvidsson said their line “almost played too much defense” in Game 1, and said that they can do a better job of being aggressive.
He was, and with two goals on Tuesday, he now has 17 in his playoff career.
“I think we skated harder and battled a little bit harder,” Arvidsson said to reporters in Buffalo. “And had our heads over the puck, and won battles, and used each other in close areas. That’s how we need to play to be successful. And I think we came out with that mindset and had a pretty good game.”
They also got a power play goal from Pavel Zacha, which is his second career playoff goal. Zacha’s goal proved to be the game-winner.
Geek Squad sneak attack! 🤓 pic.twitter.com/zhurKAvjCm
He lofted the puck from behind the red line at center ice, and it bounced right over Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and into the net. The goal gave the Bruins a 2-0 lead, and they made it 3-0 shortly after that.
“No, I don’t think I ever will [score that] again,” Morgan Geekie said about the goal. “Honestly, just tried to dump it in and got a lucky bounce, and it’s nice to see it go in.”
Luukkonen’s night was over after 40:16; he made 15 saves on 19 shots. Alex Lyon came in and immediately started chirping Tanner Jeannot. The Bruins did not beat Lyon, but didn’t need to with a four-goal lead.
The third period ramped up in physicality, which has been present in this series since Marco Sturm called the Bruins the “bigger, stronger, and more physical” team.
Mark Kastelic and Logan Stanley broke away from a scrum and fought, while another scrum at the 6:14 mark accounted for 52 of the game’s 94 penalty minutes. Nikita Zadorov, Andrew Peeke, Zach Benson, and Tage Thompson all received 10-minute misconducts.
The second scrum started because Benson poked at Jeremy Swayman. Zadorov stepped in and tossed him to the ice.
Nikita Zadorov has had it with Sabres players poking and prodding Jeremy Swayman. pic.twitter.com/dpz2f8bUUX
“When I grew up, all my coaches were telling me to protect my goalie. So when somebody slashes my goalie, that’s my job to step in,” Zadorov said. “They want to keep doing it, they’re going to keep getting it. I mean, that’s how it is.”
After Game 1, the Bruins talked about being a resilient team. They also talked about playing the way they wanted for 50 minutes; Sturm stayed true to his belief by not making any changes to the lineup.
“Again, it wasn’t terrible how we played in Game 1, but we knew that we needed to be just a little bit better,” Sturm said. “And the guys, yeah, the guys played great today. They played to our identity, let’s put it that way.”