Pastrnak Scores in Overtime, Forces Game 6 Against Sabres

BUFFALO –– Hampus Lindholm had a feeling David Pastrnak might’ve been taking off up ice.

​And so, when Lindholm collected the puck in the defensive end – thanks to a forced turnover from Marat Khusnutdinov – he knew to rocket an outlet pass to Pastrnak. It connected, and Pastrnak broke in on Alex Lyon, deking the puck around his left pad and in.

“There are only a few players, I think, who can do that,” head coach Marco Sturm said. “Not the finish, but the way he doesn't go offside…He somehow, he always gets it done. And what a nice finish from him. I’m just very happy because this guy puts a lot of pressure on himself, and he wants to be the difference. Today he was.”

The tally came at 9:14 of overtime on Tuesday night at KeyBank Center, helping the Boston Bruins secure a 2-1 victory in Game 5 against the Buffalo Sabres and force a Game 6 back in Boston on Friday.

​“I’ve played with Pasta long enough to know he likes to sneak away for those,” H. Lindholm said. “I saw him kind of start coming in his little loop. He’s pretty special when it comes to those opportunities, too. It was fun to see it go in.”

The duo saved the Bruins’ season back in 2024, too, with a Game 7, overtime set-up against the Toronto Maple Leafs. What works so well for Pastrnak and Lindholm in the biggest moments?

​“We are neighbors, so we always call it the neighbor connection. Just a great play,” Pastrnak said. “Seems like any time he has the puck and I have an opening, I have the confidence that he’s going to find me.”

​It capped off a night in which the Bruins returned to their identity. After dropping Game 4 on home ice 6-1 on Sunday, the B’s backs were against the wall down 3-1 in the first-round series. A tight-checking, hard-hitting and more defensively sound showing has Boston trailing just 3-2 now.​

“We wanted to play behind them and simple. Nothing new, just like we’ve been doing all year,” Sean Kuraly said. “We knew we were just going to come back, and we weren’t going to stop tonight. I think we looked at each other in the eye and said this was going to be one where we were going to play a full 60 minutes, no matter [what].”

The Sabres got out to a 1-0 start with a power-play goal from Rasmus Dahlin at 3:35. The Bruins pushed for the rest of the first period, leading 9-5 in shots on goal by the end of 20 minutes.

Boston found the equalizer in the middle frame, thanks to Elias Lindholm’s second tally of the postseason. Casey Mittelstadt whacked the puck away from Buffalo defenders before Morgan Geekie got it behind the net, swinging it over to E. Lindholm on the right doorstep. E. Lindholm’s original shot rang off the post, but he hustled to the rebound in the slot and wristed it past Lyon to make it 1-1 at 9:24.

“I thought we played really Bruins hockey. We didn’t really get rewarded, but we kept going, kept going. That’s how you win this time of the year; you have to be patient,” H. Lindholm said. “We are going to keep playing this type of hockey and make it hard on them.”

Between tying the contest and grabbing the win in overtime, the B’s laid it all on the line. Mark Kastelic left the second period after blocking a bomb of a shot on the penalty kill, but came right back out to finish the game with four hits and three total blocks through 11:50 of ice time.​

Khusnutdinov was pesky every shift, skating on the first line with Pastrnak and Pavel Zacha (Viktor Arvidsson was out with an upper-body injury). The 5-foot-11 forward threw a team-high five hits on Tuesday.

Henri Jokiharju, who played in his first career NHL playoff game, showed poise next to H. Lindholm. And, of course, Jeremy Swayman locked it down for his group all night – and as he’s done all series. The goaltender finished with 24 saves.

“We just stepped up in big moments and played with raw emotion,” Swayman said. “Guys were selling out their bodies and understanding that every play is important. I thought that was pretty contagious throughout the whole night.”

Sturm felt similarly.

“It’s just the character we have in this locker room. It’s amazing. No surprise for me, though. We couldn’t wait to get out there today. Guys were dialed in. Our mindset was just there,” he said. “Overall, this team never quits and always finds a way to bounce back. That’s for me, it’s character, it’s attitude, just being there for each other. I think that’s the biggest thing of what we created this year.”

It all amounted to overtime, during which Pastrnak showed up, scored and swiftly quieted what was, just moments prior, a rocking Buffalo building. The Bruins now look to Game 6 on Friday at 7:30 p.m. at TD Garden, where they will fight for their playoff lives once again.

“They’re going to see a different Boston Bruins at home. We’re going to play the game we’ve been playing here on the road. Take that home. We love playing in front of our fans,” H. Lindholm said. “It’s gonna be a real tough game for Buffalo to try to close out the series. We’re going to make it hard on them.”