3 Things to Watch: Bruins at Sabres, Game 2 of Eastern Conference 1st Round

(1WC) Bruins at (1A) Sabres

Eastern Conference First Round, Game 2

Buffalo leads best-of-7 series 1-0

7:30 p.m. ET; ESPN, NESN, MSG-B, TVAS2, SN360

BUFFALO -- The Boston Bruins could be forgiven or still be stunned when the puck drops for Game 2 of the Eastern Conference First Round against the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center on Tuesday.

Despite leading by two goals and playing what they believed was winning hockey for the first 50 minutes of Game 1 on Sunday, the Bruins trail in this best-of-7 series after allowing three goals in 4:34 in the third period of a 4-3 loss.

But a series is not a single game. Boston has a chance to make up for the lapses. 

“Last game is last game,” Bruins coach Marco Sturm said. “Today is a new game. We felt pretty good about our game. We did a lot of good things. … Overall, being on the road, being in this environment, I thought our guys did a pretty good job hanging on them. Our goal is just about today and today is having the same mindset, the same focus we had the other day. And if we do that, it gives us a pretty good chance to win this hockey game, and that’s all that matters.

“The past is the past. We move forward. The beauty about playoff hockey is you’ve got to win four games.”

The Sabres can take a 2-0 series lead for the first time since the 2007 conference semifinals against the New York Rangers. Teams that win Game 1 of a best-of-7 series in the Stanley Cup Playoffs go on to win the series 68 percent of the time (535-252). That increases to 86.1 percent for those who take a 2-0 lead (360-58).

“You can’t say, oh we won this series or anything like that, that’s for sure,” Buffalo forward Alex Tuch said. “… Boston’s going to come out and try and have a really strong push in Game 2. We’ve got to try and take care of business at home.”

Here are 3 things to watch in Game 2:

1. Tage Thompson is rolling

The past 12 months have been special for the Sabres forward, who was part of the first U.S. team to capture gold at the IIHF World Championships, then helped Team USA win gold at the 2026 Winter Olympics and is now participating in the NHL postseason for the first time. 

The 28-year-old brought the Sabres back in Game 1, scoring on a wraparound to get them on the board at 12:02 of the third, tying it 2-2 at 15:44 and setting up a go-ahead goal by Mattias Samuelsson at 16:36.

Thompson (6-foot-6, 220 pounds) is a monster who has scored at least 40 goals three times in his NHL career, including 40 this season. He’s a problem for any defenseman and could give the Bruins fits if he gets going. 

“He’s so hungry, each and every game he wants to score as many goals as possible, be a difference-maker in any way possible, and when the puck’s on his stick, anything’s possible,” Tuch said. “He’s a gamer. He’s a dog. It’s awesome to see how far he’s come, and it’s great to play on a line with a guy like that.

“He’s just so hungry; he just wants more and more. And he expects a lot out of himself. (Sunday) night he rose to the occasion, and we’re going to need him to rise to the occasion going forward if we want to continue to win.”

2. It’s second-line time

The Bruins have gotten more than expected out of their second line all season, a line cobbled together of players other teams shipped out, including the Sabres. 

Casey Mittelstadt, Pavel Zacha and Viktor Arvidsson combined to become an offensively reliable, defensively responsible line, led by Zacha’s first 30-goal season. Arvidsson had 54 points (25 goals, 29 assists) in 69 games, and Mittelstadt had 42 points (15 goals, 27 assists) in 71 games. 

But each was minus-3 on Sunday and combined for four shots on goal. Boston needs more from them in Game 2. 

“I think the Zacha line, they can be better,” Sturm said. “They really can. They were just OK, but I know they have another gear like they’ve been all year. So, I think that’s one line that needs to get better.”

3. PP vs. PK

Buffalo is 0-for-26 on the power play since April 2, including 0-for-4 in Game 1. But coach Lindy Ruff did not express much concern about his team’s lack of results with the man-advantage.

“We’re at a time of the year when you’ve got to believe in what you’re doing,” Ruff said. “We didn’t solve pressure enough. We looked at a lot of different plays and our loose puck recoveries weren’t good enough. A lot of areas we can improve in.”

The Bruins, meanwhile, were pleased with what their units were able to accomplish, starting with goalie Jeremy Swayman. That was especially positive for a team that was 24th in the NHL in the regular season on the penalty kill (77 percent), though it’s also one that made some changes after the Olympic break.

“I think guys are just feeling a little bit more comfortable, and hopefully this is our peak at the right time to getting stuff done,” Sturm said. “We noticed during that stretch in March we still had some second-guessing, (but) those are pretty much gone.

“I think everyone feels comfortable, everyone is on the same page, everyone knows their roles and that’s just the end result.”

Bruins projected lineup

Morgan Geekie -- Elias Lindholm -- David Pastrnak

Casey Mittelstadt -- Pavel Zacha -- Viktor Arvidsson

James Hagens -- Fraser Minten -- Marat Khusnutdinov

Tanner Jeannot -- Sean Kuraly -- Mark Kastelic

Jonathan Aspirot -- Charlie McAvoy

Hampus Lindholm -- Mason Lohrei

Nikita Zadorov -- Andrew Peeke

Jeremy Swayman

Joonas Korpisalo

Scratched: Alex Steeves, Jordan Harris, Henri Jokiharju, Lukas Reichel, Michael Eyssimont

Injured: None

Sabres projected lineup

Peyton Krebs -- Tage Thompson -- Alex Tuch

Jason Zucker -- Ryan McLeod -- Jack Quinn

Zach Benson -- Josh Norris -- Josh Doan

Jordan Greenway -- Josh Dunne -- Beck Malenstyn

Rasmus Dahlin -- Mattias Samuelsson

Bowen Byram -- Owen Power

Logan Stanley -- Connor Timmins

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen

Alex Lyon

Scratched: Colten Ellis, Michael Kesselring, Tyson Kozak, Tanner Pearson, Luke Schenn

Injured: Sam Carrick (upper body), Noah Ostlund (upper body), Jiri Kulich (blood clot), Justin Danforth (lower body)

Status report

Each team held a full morning skate and is expected to dress the same lineup as Game 1. ... Ellis rejoined the Sabres for the first time since starting their regular-season finale on April 15; the goalie had been absent since because of maintenance.