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Live-Blog: Vanek's three enough in 7-4 win over Boston

January 31, 2013, 7:28 PM ET [71 Comments]
Ty Anderson
Boston Bruins Blogger •Bruins Feature Columnist • RSSArchiveCONTACT
A line brawl and three fights in four seconds. That, along with two losses for his team at the time, the Dallas Stars, tell you the story of center Steve Ott's recent trips to Boston. In a word, the B's are 'aware' of Ott and what he brings to the Sabres' lineup.

"I have no problem with anything. I think that’s their choice to build a team they want," Boston coach Claude Julien said of Buffalo's offseason additions. "We’ve played our style of game forever and we don’t plan on changing that, so there’s nothing, as far as we’re concerned, that's something to be worried about."

In preparation for any nastiness, the B's will dress forward Lane MacDermid for the first time this season. The 6-foot-3 MacDermid has skated in five career games at the NHL level, with 10 hits and a fighting major to his name. Skating on the Bruins' fourth line, and bumping Danny Paille up to the third line, Boston will sit struggling winger Chris Bourque as the healthy scratch tonight. Defensemen Adam McQuaid, who's missed the last two games due to personal reasons, will also rejoin the action.

But while evening the score for last year's trucking of a Buffalo goaltender via a Milan Lucic train, Buffalo enters tonight with four straight losses to their name, and six points away from the first place B's. So, in short, points are of the essence tonight.

The Sabres will turn to Ryan Miller in search of his first win since Jan. 21. Coming into play with three straight losses (two in regulation and one in overtime), the 32-year-old Miller still has a respectable .925 save-percentage on the year, and 22 wins in 35 career games against the Bruins. And despite taking four of six from the Sabres last year, the Bruins' two losses did come with the 25-year-old Tuukka Rask in net.

Holding a 4-4-1 record against Buffalo in his career with a 2.36 goals-against-average, Rask returns to the crease after a 25-save win over New Jersey on Tuesday night. While early, the Finnish-born netminder takes to the ice tonight with a perfect 4-0-0 record and .950 save-percentage at the Garden in 2013.

First Period

20:00 - Bruins go with their second line and Dennis Seidenberg-Dougie Hamilton to start this one. Sabres counter with the Ott line.

17:07 - Lined up, they waste no time. John Scott and Shawn Thornton drop the gloves. Thornton gives up a ton of size, and it's noticeable as he gets pummeled by the 6-foot-8 forward. That'll be Scott's second fighting major in seven games this year.

14:29 - Danny Paille gets a nice dish from Rich Peverley but he can't capitalize. Miller turns it away. That's No. 30's third save of the game.

11:31 - B's going to the power-play right now. Jordan Leopold off for slashing. The Boston power-play is 3-for-24 this season.

10:11 - Lucic, all alone, can't bury it. Nice stop from Miller. The 32-year-old's looked sharp thus far.

9:25 - No luck for the B's power-play on that one.

7:17 - The Sabres have been the aggressors in this one through about 13 minutes of play. They're not giving the B's many easy looks, and Miller's been sharp when called upon, stopping all nine shots he's faced in the period.

5:15 - Lucic just misses a sure redirect goal off the stick of David Krejci, and Jason Pominville marches back the other way and is denied by Rask.

4:35 - John Scott on the break. Stopped by Rask. That's No. 40's eighth stop of the night.

4:24 - There's the John Scott we all know! He's off to the box, elbowing is the call. He's pretty pissed off about it. Kinda hard to blame him when you're his size but hey, that's the game. Ask Zdeno Chara.

3:35 - I've said it once, and I'll say it again: Boston's lack of a true second power-play unit is absolutely killing them right now. Dump-and-chase... on the man-advantage. Awful look.

2:20 - Nothing doing for the B's on that power-play, either. They're now 3-for-26 this year.

0.0 - Boston nearly strikes with time waning in the first, but they cannot bury it.

Thoughts after one...

One fight, some dazzling saves from each goaltender (but more from the Sabres' Miller), and we're witnessing a 0-0 stalemate. No doubt that it's been Miller keeping this one scoreless though, as his teammates -- his defensemen especially -- have been playing just an absolutely terrible game from a puck-moving standpoint. Constantly back-peddling and by all means turning it on over to the B's wingers.

That's gotta change or Miller's going to need to post a 42-save shutout tonight.

Second Period

20:00 - Word outta the Boston room is that Shawn Thornton will not return with a suspected concussion. The unfortunate nature of his line of work.

18:22 - Thomas Vanek, the most notorious Bruin killer in all the land, strikes. Gets the sweet dish from Cody Hodgson and buries it. That's his fourth of the year, and 26th against Boston.

16:16 - The B's storm back into the Buffalo zone, but a Brad Marchand dropback pass lands on Tyler Seguin's stick but he rips the glass. The 21-year-old sniper is absolutely snakebitten right now.

14:48 - Tie game! Rich Peverley with the patience of a saint. He buries it top corner, and it's a tie game. What poise on that one.

14:28 - Third line with another chance, but they can't bury it. Miller stops it on the goal line. Some extra stuff after the whistle, and Boston will be shorthanded. Peverley to the box.

12:17 - Oh my goodness, what a move by Marchand. Holy cow. The Sabres will have nightmares about that goal. No. 63 absolutely undresses the Sabres' defense and then Miller. B's now on top, 2-1.

11:05 - Seguin on the breakaway but he's denied by Miller! Sweet save from the Buffalo goaltender.

9:06 - More Marchand. More Boston scoring. That's Marchand's fifth, and the Bruins have a 3-1 lead.

9:06 - The "Mill-er" chants are out full force tonight, and that's truly a gutless move by this Boston crowd. You'd have to assume that together they have at least 50 pounds on the Sabres' netminder.

6:30 - The Seguin-Marchand duo are absolutely buzzing right now. They are just on another level when it comes to their vision and dogged determination of the puck in the offensive zone.

5:46 - The energy in this building right now would make you think that this is a playoff game. It's only the fifth home game of the season. Fans are jacked.

4:15 - Milan Lucic will sit for two via a boarding call, and Zdeno Chara will join him with a two minute holding call called at the other end of the ice. Buffalo will have two minutes of 5-on-3 action. That's huge, especially with a two-goal deficit.

3:14 - Vanek, again. Big goal for the Sabres. Chara's out of the box for Boston.

1:41 - Tyler Ennis all alone and with Rask down-and-out, and we have a tie game.

Thoughts after two...

A six-goal second period isn't exactly what I thought we'd see, but that's where we are.

Big test here for Buffalo, as Boston's been the best third period team in hockey for about two years now, and have yet to surrender a goal in the final frame this year.

Third Period

18:15 - David Krejci with the magic, and his second goal of the season. Whoa, man. B's retake the lead, 4-3.

17:32 - Haha, and just like that, it's tied once again. Alexander Sulzer this time.

13:36 - Dougie Hamilton got hit with something in the face. He goes down to the tunnel. That'd be a big blow to the Bruins.

13:36 - Never mind. Hamilton's back on the bench.

13:06 - CoHo past a sprawling Chara and the Sabres have the lead once again. 5-4.

9:00 - What a save by Miller on Chara alone in the slot! He bombed it in and Miller took it.

8:35 - What a sequence out there. Some serious hard work from the Bruins leads to a power-play. Myers will sit for four after high-sticking Paille.

8:04 - Seidenberg negates the next two minutes of that power-play. He's called for tripping Marcus Foligno. 4-on-4 for the next 100 seconds or so.

5:56 - What a save by Miller. From the butterfly position just flat out robs Patrice Bergeron of a sure goal. Goodness, what a beautiful glove.

1:31 - After being hung out to dry about a billion times tonight, the Sabres capitalize and make this a two-goal lead. Vanek with the hat trick.

13.6 - Pominville with the empty net goal.

0.0 - Sabres win this one, 7-4.
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