Bruins 'learn again the hard way' in Game 1 loss to Sabres

BUFFALO -- The Boston Bruins learned the hard way that no lead is safe in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Despite going up 2-0 on a goal from Elias Lindholm at 1:08 of the third period, the Bruins weren't able to put away the Buffalo Sabres, who scored three goals in a span of 4:34 in a 4-3 win in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference First Round at KeyBank Center on Sunday.

“We were exactly where we wanted to play, being in that position five or six minutes left in the game," Boston coach Marco Sturm said. "You could tell they got a little bit frustrated and, yeah, we made pretty much two mistakes to let them tie up the game.

“Obviously, with the crowd behind them, they got some life and the game is done. Very unfortunate because my guys played really well. Really well. But that’s playoffs. That’s something we have to learn again the hard way. We just have to stick with it for 60 minutes.”

Morgan Geekie's goal at 10:52 of the first period gave the Bruins a 1-0 lead that held through two periods them despite being outshot 27-13. They stayed strong to their defensive structure and frustrated Buffalo’s offense, limiting its rush game and keeping shots to the outside.

Boston had its chances to add to the advantage as well, including a pair of breakaways by David Pastrnak in the second period. He skated in and looked to deke Sabres goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, but the goalie got his right pad out to deny the forward nearly four minutes in. Pastrnak was stopped again from the slot and on the rebound chance on his second opportunity just past the midway mark at 10:18.

Still, an offensive push was to be expected from the Sabres, who were playing in their first Stanley Cup Playoff game since 2011.

“We knew they were going to kind of come out the way they did and just try to weather the storm,” Geekie said. “They got one early and we got back on our heels a little bit. But it's playoffs. That's how the games are going to be now, and we just got to find ways to kind of weather their push and just continue to play our game and try to close those ones out."

Tage Thompson rejuvenated the home crowd when he cut the lead to 2-1 at 12:02, and they took it to another level when he tied the game shortly after at 15:44. Buffalo fans then erupted into a deafening roar when Mattias Samuelsson scored the go-ahead goal 52 seconds later.

“Obviously, we hadn't had any goals against for the first 40 minutes, so when that first one hits, it's a little different, and obviously the building kind of erupted,” Geekie said. “So, yeah, I think subconsciously a little bit (we backed off our game), but I don't think that affected us too much. I think a couple of mistakes here and there, but they're a good team. They're going to take advantage of those, and they did that tonight.

“I think the emotions of playoffs kind of run high and low, and it's just trying not to lose that will and that belief in this room. We’ve got a great group in here that kind of believes that we have the group to continue to put ourselves in good positions, and we're going to try and do that in Game 2. 

“So, just try to come out and continue to play the way we know how to play, and kind of just let our play speak for ourselves. We know it's going to be a battle in Game 2 again. It's going to be a fun game, but we'll just try to get to our game early.”

The Bruins believe that they can and will bounce back when the two teams meet again Tuesday for Game 2 of the best-of-7 series (7:30 p.m. ET; ESPN, NESN, MSG-B, TVAS2, SN360). 

“We played a really good hockey game for us,” Sturm said. “We just couldn’t finish it. That’s the frustrating point, but it’s a long series. We’re prepared. We came to Buffalo wanting to get a win. We didn’t get one today, but we’re going to try our best to get one the next game.”