Highlights from Bruins' 2-1 win over Sabres

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FINAL SCORE: Bruins 2, Sabres 1

FROM HAGGERTY

In their final meeting of the year, the Bruins make a pretty big statement to the Sabres that they have some dues to pay in the second half of the season with a strong 2-1 regulation win. That’s a four-point game in the books. There’s been a lot of curiosity as to whether Buffalo is going to fade a little bit when the intensity rises in the second half of the season, as a young team really going through a playoff push for the first time. This was an early indicator that we may see a little bit of that with them, but you also need to take into account the lack of Jack Eichel.

It was a pretty good all-around night for the kid line of Heinen-JFK-Donato that had been together previously, but was busted up for a little while through the injuries before being reunited again on Thursday. There was Jakob Forsbacka-Karlsson's three shot attempts and 8-of-11 performance in the face-off circle, and five shots on net for Ryan Donato. After tonight, we may see a little bit more of them moving forward as the Bruins attempt to solidify their line combos. 

Four shots on net, six shot attempts and a couple of hits for David Backes in 10:15 of ice time through two periods, as it appears that he truly enjoys getting a look on the second line with David Krejci and Jake DeBrusk. Oh yeah, he had a pretty sweet goal too, when he smoked a wrist shot over the Buffalo goalie’s glove hand after motoring down the left wing for a shot off the rush. It’s interesting that Backes didn’t get a chance to really audition for that line until this point as the B’s were trying out young kids for the first half of the season, but it makes sense now in retrospect to give him a look. Backes’ other best chance was on the power play when he snapped off a one-timer after a cross-ice pass from Patrice Bergeron, but Ullmark made the save.

The Bruins fourth line was pretty lit tonight. Chris Wagner has six shots on net and a goal, Sean Kuraly has three shots on net and has been all around the action and Noel Acciari has been a physical, energy force. They’ve been good just about every shift that they’ve been on the ice and continue to be in a very good stretch together as a trio. They could easily have two or three goals as well rather than just the first one they scored in the first period, so things continue to click with them for physicality, opportunistic offense and good, old-fashioned energy. Wagner is playing so well that he scored the first goal of the game twice for the B’s, and that’s not something you see every day.

For the love of good, can we stop with the goals being taken away from the Bruins? It looked like Ullmark was out of the crease when he made contact with Sean Kuraly and then flopped after the two made contact. Wagner fired the puck into the vacated net for what looked like a goal, but instead it was immediately waved off and then confirmed by video when the B’s challenged it. It’s really becoming criminal that the NHL doesn’t do more to make certain that good goals are counting in a league where they want more goals, more scoring and more exciting offense to sell their game. 

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BOX SCORE 

BRUINS RECORD: 24-14-4 (52 points), 3rd in Atlantic Division

BACKES PICKS HIS CORNER

SENTIMENTAL GOAL FOR WAGNER

UP NEXT
TUESDAY
: vs. Minnesota, 7 p.m. (NESN)
THURSDAY: vs. Washington, 7 p.m. (NESN)
SATURDAY: at Toronto, 7 p.m. (NESN)

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