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The Boston Bruins made life easy for goaltender Tuukka Rask in the first period of Saturday’s 2-1 win over the Buffalo Sabres. But it sure as hell did not stay that way for Rask en route to his 13th win.
Hit with just three shots in the first period, the 29-year-old Rask was spotted a one-goal edge after one when David Krejci tipped a Brandon Carlo shot through Buffalo’s Robin Lehner for his fourth goal of the season -- and his tenth point in the last 12 games played -- 14:10 into the first period.
But in the second period, the Sabres cranked up the pressure as they frequently hemmed the B’s in their own, but still had nothing to show for it in the goals department in a 15-shot middle period.
The closest they came, of course, was a very clear Brian Gionta kick into the B’s net.
It was in the third period that the Bruins finally found a way to combat the Sabres’ push with another goal, this one scored by Patrice Bergeron for his first goal in seven games, with assists to David Pastrnak and Brad Marchand, to put the Black and Gold up 2-0 at the 7:44 mark of the third period.
Buffalo would finally respond, though, just 1:28 after the Bergeron goal when Sam Reinhart capitalized on an Adam McQuaid turnover and fed it to Evander Kane for Kane’s first goal of the year.
Back within one, the Sabres were given a golden chance with a late game power-play that sent Austin Czarnik to the box, but No. 40 stood tall, with the help of the B’s elite penalty killing unit, and then came up big once more, this time with the Blades net empty for a season-high 35-save victory.
With stops on all but one of the 36 shots thrown his way, Rask’s save percentage improved from a .939 to a .941, and he has now allowed one goal or fewer in 11 of his 17 starts this season.
This and that
- A Saturday day game against the Sabres? Perfect time for the NHL debut of forward
Anton Blidh. A sixth-round choice of the Bruins in 2013 (180th overall), the 21-year-old energy forward began his day on the fourth line with Ryan Spooner and Dominic Moore and played an efficient forechecking game and even finished his debut with three shots on goal.
- The win did not come without a sour note for the Black and Gold, though, as Matt Beleskey was lost to an undisclosed injury following a collision with Buffalo defenseman Taylor Fedun. It looked as if Beleskey banged either his knee or perhaps a hip on the hit, but there was no other update from the Bruins aside from the fact that he would not return to the game. With Beleskey down, Blidh was given a promotion of sorts to the third line with Czarnik and Riley Nash. And if Beleskey is down for any extended stretch, expect Jimmy Hayes, who was a healthy scratch today, to draw back into action.
- Think Brad Marchand was under the Sabres’ skin? It seemed that No. 63 was at the epicenter of every postwhistle scrum and shoving contest, and even appeared to get into it with one of the linesmen. As a referee screamed what I could only assume is a warning to chill out, Marchand very clearly said “do your job” and told the referee to leave him alone in not so many words. Oh, Brad.
Up next
The Bruins will return back to Boston for a Monday night head-to-head with the Panthers.
Ty Anderson has been covering the National Hockey League for HockeyBuzz.com since 2010 and has been a member of the Pro Hockey Writers Association's Boston Chapter since 2013. Ty is also the Boston Bruins beat writer and columnist for WEEI.com, and can also be found in the New England Hockey Journal. Contact him on Twitter or send him an email at Ty.AndersonHB[at]gmail.com.
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