Halloween came early for the Boston Bruins.

In dire need of a pick-me-up win after a Tuesday night collapse against the Minnesota Wild, the B’s flirted with defeat for nearly 60 minutes against the Buffalo Sabres. Yes, that same Buffalo squad that put just 10 shots on goal in their last game (against Toronto no less), and came into the affair with a minus-22 goal differential (with just 11 goals for in 10 games, too). That same Buffalo squad hung with the Bruins for over 60 minutes before Brad Marchand swung in to save the day with a game-tying goal 14:30 into the third and added the dagger 1:20 into overtime.

Talk about a nightmare.

The night began with a spirited bout between Milan Lucic and Chris Stewart -- a rather interesting tangle given the early season rumors that have tied the Stewart (a pending unrestricted free agent) to the B’s, and specifically on the right side opposite the 6-foot-4 Lucic -- 51 seconds into the first period.



And that’s about all we have to talk about when it came to the first period of this one.

Both teams whiffed on their power play opportunities in the first, and the Bruins held a mild 8-7 advantage in shots through one.

But with Reilly Smith in the box and the B’s back on the kill five minutes into the second, the Sabres struck. With Tyler Ennis holding the puck behind a net, a swift move and pass through two B’s defensemen -- Adam McQuaid and Joe Morrow (making his NHL debut) -- put the puck on Drew Stafford’s stick and up 1-0. It was a goal that really came with some undeniable precision from Ennis, as both Morrow and Danny Paille were unable to put the lumber on the pass, while McQuaid’s big frame certainly seemed to blind Niklas Svedberg’s view quite a bit.

McQuaid would find redemption just six minutes later with his shot deflecting off Mike Weber’s glove and into the net, good for the rugged defenseman’s first goal of the season. That was a goal that really started with Morrow’s ability to push the puck up ice and into the attacking zone, and showed off some of the offensive prowess and awareness that’s made Morrow a blue chip blue-liner.

The Bruins were finally seeing some positive contributions from their organizational depth on the point.

….Well, at least from one guy.

Just minutes after the game-tying strike from McQuaid, a blown possession from David Warsofsky, the 5-foot-9 defender up with Boston to fill in for the injured Torey Krug, gave Buffalo a 2-on-1 with Ennis burying the go-ahead marker for his fourth goal of the season.

It was a two-goal, three-shot middle frame for the Sabres, and put the Black and Gold against the wall.

But again, it would be the heroics from Marchand, a player moved down to the left wing of the Soderberg line in an effort to get ‘something’ going, that saved the day and secured a much needed two points for the Bruins.

And it was the overtime winner that really showed off the ‘better’ side of the Bruins.

They possessed the puck, hemmed the Sabres deep in their own zone without the chance for a line change, and struck. Whether that spoke to the Sabres’ inability to get the puck or the Bruins’ ability to control the puck, you can be the judge, but that was vintage (if you wanna call it that) Bruins hockey. Especially from the Bergeron line with Marchand and Smith on the wings, which was reunited for the overtime frame as the team went to the one-defense, three-forward combination in the attacking zone.
This one was, well, hard to digest.

Let’s make one thing clear: the Sabres are terrible. They are a team that was purposely constructed to lose more games than they’d win by a fairly substantial margin. They boast a lineup of unbelievably streaky scorers, a faceless defensive structure, and perhaps the worst goaltending tandem you’ll see in the league today. This is a team that is not trying to win anything besides the draft lottery. The Bruins should blow the doors off their net even with guys like Zdeno Chara and Krug out of the lineup.

But (draw that one out as long as you can), this was also a night where Morrow and Warsofsky made their season debuts. Heck, this was Morrow’s first game at the NHL level. The bumps -- like the one that came with Ennis making him look silly on the Sabres’ first goal -- should be expected. The same can be said for Warsofsky, a player who will certainly take gambles with the puck, even with his six-game NHL sample. These players both seem to bring more positives than negatives -- Morrow was the smooth skating, steadying offensive presence we’ve read about in Providence -- and weren’t glaring weaknesses out there at all times.

That said, you’ll obviously need to see how these guys perform against greater competition before making a full-time (or at least ‘til one of either Chara or Kevan Miller is ready) commitment to either. If that happens, it’s a realistic possibility that we’ll never see Matt Bartkowski again.

Up front, the Bruins finally saw some signs of life from Reilly Smith. Picking up the assist on Marchand’s overtime winner, the Toronto, Ont. native finished the night with one shot (four attempts) in 16:00. Still, while the Bruins really like the look of that second line, putting Smith up with Krejci and Lucic might be the kid to getting him going, while a guy like Griffith drops down to a solidified role with the second line.

Up next

The Bruins are back in Boston on Saturday night for a 7 p.m. contest against the Ottawa Senators. It will be the first of five 2014-15 meetings with Ottawa, with the Bruins and Sens splitting last year’s season series. Boston has one just two of six home games in 2014-15, and are still looking to jump back over .500.

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