Bruins rally to defeat Sabres in OT after 15-day break

Charlie Coyle scored 34 seconds into overtime, and the Boston Bruins rallied to win in their first game in 16 days, 4-3 against the Buffalo Sabres at TD Garden in Boston on Saturday.

Coyle scored with a wrist shot from the high slot.
Boston last played Dec. 16, a 3-1 loss at the New York Islanders, before having six games postponed due to COVID-19 concerns.
"It's been a long time since we played our last game. … As the game went on, I thought we got better and better," Bruins goalie Linus Ullmark said. "It's just nice to get a comeback win. I was pretty happy. … To come back from those first two periods and finish it off in overtime, it's great."
Craig Smith, Nick Foligno and Taylor Hall scored for the Bruins (15-10-2), who trailed by two early in the third period. Charlie McAvoy had three assists, and Ullmark made 21 saves.

Vinnie Hinostroza, Jeff Skinner and Alex Tuch scored for the Sabres (10-18-5). Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 37 saves.
"It's our third game in four days, coming off a break, and we weren't feeling our game nearly close enough to what we wanted. You had to battle," Sabres coach Don Granato said. "Everything was hard, and our guys found a way to battle. It wasn't pretty. [Luukkonen] was outstanding. … He made it look easy."
Granato, Hinostroza and Skinner each returned after missing two games in NHL COVID-19 protocol.
Hinostroza gave Buffalo a 1-0 lead at 6:33 of the first period with a wrist shot from the high slot that deflected off Foligno.
Smith tied it 1-1 at 3:47 of the second on a rebound after Lukkonen saved Brad Marchand's one-timer.
Skinner gave the Sabres a 2-1 lead at 11:32. Bruins defenseman Matt Grzelcyk blocked Tuch's shot, and Skinner collected the loose puck before scoring with a wrist shot to the top right corner.

Tuch made it 3-1 on the power play at 19:11 with a one-timer off Peyton Krebs' backward pass through the slot. It was Tuch's first goal with the Sabres; he was traded to Buffalo by the Vegas Golden Knights on Nov. 4 in the deal for center Jack Eichel.
"It felt good," Tuch said. "We had a lot of pressure on that power play, and Peyton [Krebs] made a great play to get that first one and that monkey off the back. He found me wide open. I think he had everyone not only on the ice fooled, but also in the stands. Even the camera was looking the other way."
Foligno scored his first goal with Boston on a rebound to cut it to 3-2 at 3:24 of the third. The forward played his 19th game for the Bruins after signing as a free agent in the offseason.
"[Scoring] felt great," Foligno said. "It's something I want to do for this team. Especially with the opportunities I've been given, I want to make the most of it. It's nice to get rewarded with a goal. … It was nice to see our line connect on that and get our team going."
Hall tied it 3-3 at 4:49 with a wrist shot on the rush.
NOTES: The Bruins won for the first time this season when trailing by two. They had four multigoal comeback victories last season. … Foligno ended a 26-game goal drought; he last scored April 6, 2021, for the Columbus Blue Jackets in a 4-2 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning. … Krebs' assist on Tuch's goal was his first point for Buffalo in his third game with the Sabres. He also was traded from the Golden Knights in the Eichel deal. Krebs' first NHL point was an assist on a Tuch goal, during a 6-5 Vegas loss against the Minnesota Wild on May 3, 2021.