Sabres ride their ‘dogs’ to thrilling Game 1 comeback

The big dogs came to play on Sunday night at KeyBank Center.

For 52 minutes of game action, Buffalo’s first Stanley Cup Playoffs crowd in 15 years didn’t have much to cheer about, as the Sabres trailed the Boston Bruins, 2-0, despite carrying play and throwing everything at goalie Jeremy Swayman. The pregame energy had dissipated, and Game 1 looked to belong to the visitors.

Then, Tage Thompson took over his long-awaited playoff debut, leading the Sabres to a thrilling comeback and a 4-3 win over the Bruins.

“We always talk about, ‘Dogs have to be dogs,’” captain Rasmus Dahlin said, “and today [Thompson] showed up and led the team. That was special.”

With 7:58 remaining in the third period, the big forward grabbed a loose puck behind the net and beat Swayman to the post for a backhand, wraparound goal, lifting the Sabres off the mat and re-electrifying the crowd.

Thompson doubled up a few minutes later to tie Game 1, this time stealing from Boston forward Elias Lindholm along the goal line, carrying in front and finding a gap in Swayman’s far side.

Buffalo held a 27-13 edge in shots through two periods, but the Bruins had done well, defensively, to keep things on the outside. Perimeter and point shots, many of them unscreened, weren’t much of a challenge for a star netminder like Swayman. After a while, the Sabres got to the offensive game they’d hoped for from the start.

“I think those two goals are exactly what we wanted to do all night: put pucks behind them, pound their D, make it a tough night on them and just hit the repeat button on that,” Thompson said. “You go back for enough pucks, it's pretty exhausting. Create loose pucks and get chances from there, and fortunately they went in for us.”

Ideas of a third intermission and 5-on-5 overtime (and the associated stresses) didn’t last long, because Mattias Samuelsson gave Buffalo a 3-2 lead just 52 seconds later. Jack Quinn pulled another puck out of the corner, and a scrambling Boston defense left Samuelsson wide open to snipe one home.

“This team doesn’t quit. They don’t give up,” coach Lindy Ruff said. “Because we were garnering a lot of the offensive-zone play, it was just whether we could break them down and get that good chance. … I just felt that we finally got them to a place where we created the turnovers that we needed.”

Alex Tuch buried an empty netter with 1:12 remaining, and that proved to be the Game 1 winner when Boston got a garbage-time goal in the final seconds. Thompson set Tuch up by clearing the defensive zone, earning his third point of the night.

To Ruff and the Sabres’ point, the late offensive outburst was the result of an aggressive physical approach from the opening faceoff. After Bruins coach Marco Sturm touted his team’s toughness pregame, Buffalo came out and delivered 53 hits, more than any team in any game this regular season. Boston was credited with 38.

Tuch had 10 hits, Samuelsson had nine, and 11 other Sabres finished with two or more. Everyone playing the body – Samuelsson had some especially big ones – eventually paid off and confirmed what Buffalo already knew: This team can hang with anyone, physically.

“Samuelsson was an absolute stud in the game. Running over people, physical,” Ruff said. “… I thought, by far, he was our most physical, and he gets rewarded with the goal.”

This was Buffalo’s third win this season when trailing by two in the third period; in games and in the standings, these Sabres are never out of it, and that’s a testament to their leadership. And with guys like Thompson and Samuelsson dominating like they did Sunday, this team is fully capable of a deep run.

“We just had a lot of belief within the group,” Samuelsson said. “Just tried to ride the momentum with the fans, and it worked out nice.”

Added Thompson: “I thought tonight was really important to make a statement and set our standard. I think we still have another level to get to.”

Game 2 is 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. First, here are some more notes from the series opener.

• More from Sunday: Game 1 comeback ranks highly in Ruff's storied career

Luukkonen in net

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen got the start in Buffalo’s net and earned the win with 17 saves. It was the 27-year-old’s playoff debut, and he admitted to some (noticeable) nerves early on.

“Yeah, of course, but a good kind (of nerves),” he said. “That’s the whole point of it. The arena was rocking and the fans showed up. Everybody was feeling probably a little bit nervous and antsy at the start of it, but I feel like that’s a good thing.”

Buffalo trailed 1-0 for much of the night after Morgan Geekie’s early goal, and Luukkonen did his part to keep things close, turning aside a pair of David Pastrnak breakaways in the second period. The Bruins’ star winger tends to cheat for offense, so the Sabres will need to keep a closer eye on No. 88 as the series goes on.

“He gave us a chance to get back in the game,” Ruff said of Luukkonen. “They didn’t have a lot of opportunities, but we gave them a couple big ones, when you talk about the breakaways.”

Debuts galore

A lot is made of playoff experience (or lack thereof). In addition to Luukkonen, 10 Buffalo skaters made their postseason debuts. There were some early signs of guys gripping their sticks tightly or committing unforced turnovers, but the late comeback should have the young Sabres firmly in the trenches, now.

“I told them right after the game, ‘You want experience? You’ve got it now,’” Ruff said with laugh. “I mean, what an experience. If you're going to say this was my first playoff game, you've got a great story to tell.”

Of the six Sabres to record a point, Tuch was the only one with prior playoff experience.

Postgame sound

Up next

The Sabres are scheduled to practice Monday before Game 2 on Tuesday. Full series schedule and broadcast info

Stay tuned to Sabres.com for daily coverage as Round 1 and the playoffs progress.