Ristolainen scores late, but Sabres fall in series finale with Bruins

BOSTON -Rasmus Ristolainen scored to spoil Tuukka Rask's shutout with 2:38 remaining, but the Buffalo Sabres were unable to overcome a sloppy second period in a 2-1 loss to the Boston Bruins at TD Garden on Saturday night.
The Sabres were outshot 14-3 through the first 10 minutes of the second. It was during that stretch that David Backes scored for the Bruins on a 2-on-1 rush to extend their lead to 2-0.

"I think it was a little bit of lack of execution and it started with the opening faceoff of the second period," Sabres coach Phil Housley said. "We win a faceoff, we don't execute and get the puck in deep and they come back after us. That was pretty much a theme for the second.
"When it was a breakout, we made the first pass, we couldn't make the next play to get into the neutral zone or into their end. They had tight gaps on us and they came right back after us. I think it was just our lack of execution fed right into their transition."

Linus Ullmark made 39 saves for the Sabres, keeping them in the game long enough to stage a third period push. They outshot the Bruins 13-12 in the third but were unable to solve Rask until Ristolainen beat him streaking down the right-wing side.
Rask's 31-save performance included three point-blank stops on Jeff Skinner, who led the Sabres with six shots.
Housley was pleased with the way his team played that final period, and he liked their start too. The lesson, he said, was that two good periods won't be enough as the season gets older and the games get tighter.
"I think it's really a recognition of how the games are going to be moving forward," Housley said. "It's a 60-minute effort. We can't lay our foot off the gas pedal, and we're going to need everybody. Everybody's got to be pulling the rope, each and every game. That's going to be very important."

The Sabres entered the night tied with the Bruins in the standings. Sam Reinhart spoke in the morning about how they had come to expect tough games from their division rival, and the Bruins lived up to that billing. They forechecked hard and made it difficult for the Sabres to do the same.
"That's a pretty good hockey team there," Ristolainen said. "They know what they're doing. They play their system pretty well, a hard building to play in, and we've got to understand it's not going to be easy for 60 minutes for us. They're going to have their moments too. We've got to hang in there and we couldn't create enough today."
The Bruins' fourth line of Sean Kuraly, Noel Acciari and Chris Wagner was particularly effective, coming off a strong performance when the teams met in Buffalo on Dec. 18. Not only did Wagner open the scoring in the first period, he had another goal waved off and one more robbed by Ullmark from point-blank range.

That line's play, Housley said, is a lot like the style that the Sabres have employed when they've been successful.
"They finish checks," Housley said. "They're in your face. It's a simple mindset for them. They get the puck in and they go to work. For the most part, that's sort of what we've done in the past."

Up next

The Sabres return home to host the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday night. Coverage on MSG-B begins at 6:30 p.m. with the GMC Game Night pregame show, or you can listen live on WGR 550. The puck drops at 7.