3 Things to Watch: Sabres at Bruins, Game 6 of Eastern 1st Round

(1A) Sabres at (1WC) Bruins

Eastern Conference First Round, Game 6

Sabres lead best-of-7 series 3-2

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

BOSTON -- The Boston Bruins will try to once again extend their season when they host the Buffalo Sabres in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference First Round at TD Garden on Friday.

David Pastrnak scored in overtime in Buffalo in Game 5 on Tuesday, and had a message for Bruins fans afterward.

"Just be loud, please, and be patient," he said of Game 6 in Boston. "We're going to shoot the puck, don't worry."

It has not been lost on the Bruins the way in which they last left their fans, after an ugly Game 4 loss left them one loss away from an end to their season. It was their second straight loss on home ice, and one in which they never really competed, going down 4-0 en route to a 6-1 defeat. 

Since they went to Buffalo and won Game 5, though, they have vowed to be better, to "redeem" themselves in the eyes of their fans, to extend the series to a winner-takes-all Game 7.

"We owe them one for sure, at least," defenseman Nikita Zadorov said, of the Bruins fans. "It was embarrassing effort in Game 4. That's not what our fans paid money for, to come and see us play that way. So we're glad we got the win the other night and we have a chance to redeem ourselves in front of our crowd."

But standing in their way are the Sabres, the team that won the Atlantic Division and that sees itself as entirely capable of coming into Boston and taking a game, because they've already done it, twice, outscoring Boston 9-2 in the process.

The Sabres know what they have to do and how they have to play to end the series.

"We were right there," Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said of Game 5. "We had a chance to execute on two or three plays that, if we execute, we're getting a breakaway before they get their breakaway, but we didn't execute. We missed out on opportunities. And some of the opportunities we missed out (on), we won't miss out on tonight. 

"Our game is in a good place. We know we're playing a team with a strong defensive structure and we've got to be able to break it down. We've got to get inside, got to get pucks going to the inside. … The opportunities were there. Maybe we're not going to get as many, but we know we're going to get them."

Here are three things to watch in Game 6:

1. Powering the power play?

It was hard to get around the numbers. The Sabres were at 0-for-39 on the power play, a drought that extended back to April 2, and included the final weeks of the regular season and the start of the first round of the playoffs. 

They had nearly broken that streak in Game 4, scoring a mere two seconds after the conclusion of a first-period power play, and it was clear that their units were improving. 

The run finally ended in Game 5, when Rasmus Dahlin scored at 3:35 of the first period on the man advantage. 

It's good news for Buffalo, both that their streak of futility has ended and that they have looked so much better on the power play, which can be a dangerous weapon for them heading into Game 6.

2. Being who they are

It was almost immediately apparent on Tuesday that the game would be different than Game 4. And that started with the Bruins. 

Even with jumbled lines, even playing with players some of them had little experience with, the Bruins looked like themselves. It looked like a team that had built a playoff-worthy season on being hard to play against, being structured, being staunch defensively. 

"It showed right away, first shift it showed," coach Marco Sturm said. "Even [when] they scored, I felt really good about it because we played to our identity. Not saying you're going to win every game, but at least gives us a good chance playing as a unit of five, being aggressive, being structured well and in the big moments, big players showed up, and that's what we did all year long."

They played as a team, he said. 

He's looking for that same approach again, the return to the basics, to the bread-and-butter of the 2025-26 Bruins. If that's how the Bruins come out on Friday, it bodes well for giving them a chance to extend the series.

3. Sabres lineup changes 

Josh Norris will return to the lineup for the Sabres, slotting into the third-line center spot where he started the series. He left after Game 2 with an undisclosed injury, but has since recovered. 

Forward Noah Ostlund was injured in the first period of Game 5, sustaining a lower-body injury when he got tangled up with Bruins forward Casey Mittelstadt, and Ruff said he will miss "some time" after the game. 

Defenseman Logan Stanley will be a game-time decision for the Sabres. If he cannot play, Michael Kesselring will return to the lineup for the first time since April 15, though he has played only two games since March 10. It would mark first postseason game of Kesselring's career.

"Really worked hard," Ruff said, of Kesselring in practices. "He's done a lot of work post-practice, during practice, really like how he's skating. Probably skating as well now as he skated post-all the injuries he dealt with."

Sabres projected lineup

Peyton Krebs -- Tage Thompson -- Alex Tuch

Jason Zucker -- Ryan McLeod -- Jack Quinn

Zach Benson -- Josh Norris -- Josh Doan

Jordan Greenway -- Tyson Kozak -- Beck Malenstyn

Rasmus Dahlin -- Mattias Samuelsson

Bowen Byram -- Owen Power

Logan Stanley -- Connor Timmins

Alex Lyon

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen

Scratched: Josh Dunne, Colten Ellis, Michael Kesselring, Tanner Pearson, Luke Schenn

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

Bruins projected lineup

Marat Khusnutdinov -- Pavel Zacha -- David Pastrnak

Casey Mittelstadt -- Elias Lindholm -- Morgan Geekie

Alex Steeves -- Fraser Minten -- Michael Eyssimont

Tanner Jeannot -- Sean Kuraly -- Mark Kastelic

Jonathan Aspirot -- Charlie McAvoy

Hampus Lindholm -- Henri Jokiharju

Nikita Zadorov -- Andrew Peeke

Jeremy Swayman

Joonas Korpisalo

Scratched: James Hagens, Jordan Harris, Mason Lohrei, Lukas Reichel

Injured: Viktor Arvidsson (upper body)

Status report

Neither team held a morning skate. ... Stanley will be a game-time decision after missing practice Thursday because of an illness. ... Kesselring, a defenseman, will enter the lineup if Stanley can't play. ... Norris is expected to return after missing three games with an undisclosed injury. ... Arvidsson will miss his second consecutive game; the forward skated on his own Friday and could be ready if there's a Game 7 on Sunday, Bruins coach Marco Sturm said. ... Boston will dress the same lineup it used in Game 5.