Game 4 takeaways | In top form, Sabres have their way with Bruins

BOSTON – With the chance to take a 3-1 series lead, coach Lindy Ruff expected his Buffalo Sabres to be energized and ready for Sunday afternoon’s Game 4 against the Boston Bruins.

That turned out to be an understatement. A thoroughly dominant, four-goal first period shocked the TD Garden crowd and paved the way for a 6-1 blowout, which now has the Sabres one win away from a trip to the second round.

“That first period was the best period we played all year,” Ruff said. “Puck pressure, scoring opportunities. We moved the puck and got the puck up ice. We didn’t spend much time in our end.”

Buffalo's top line got the fun started 4:17 in, as Tage Thompson and Alex Tuch pressured Bruins rookie Fraser Minten into a defensive-zone turnover and set up an open Peyton Krebs for his second goal of the playoffs. So, for the first time this series, the Sabres held an early lead.

“I think what’s been holding us back a little bit is just our starts. We wanted to make sure we took it to them right off the hop,” said Krebs, who’s plus-seven with five points (2+3) to start the playoffs. “… We’re at our best when we’re on our toes, just consistently on the forecheck making their D make mistakes, and I think we did that.”

Three minutes later, the Sabres effectively (unofficially) scored their first power-play goal of the month, with Josh Doan redirecting in Ryan McLeod’s centering pass just two seconds after a Boston penalty expired. Doan had recently struggled to the bench after absorbing a huge open-ice hit, but he shook it off to bury his first career playoff goal.

“Our attack, our intent, our speed, everything was good,” Ruff said. “You can say we’re gonna be 0-for-whatever; I really don’t care right now. As far as I’m concerned, we scored a power-play goal.”

The lead grew to 3-0 at 9:15, when Doan pestered Boston blueliner Jordan Harris (an addition to the Game 4 lineup) into another turnover, and Zach Benson drove to the net to push a shot through goalie Jeremy Swayman.

Doan and Benson, along with center Noah Ostlund, were menaces in all three zones on Sunday as they played with speed, broke up Boston rush chances and generated dangerous offense of their own. Per Natural Stat Trick, Buffalo led 15-4 in shot attempts and 9-3 in shots on goal with that line deployed at 5-on-5.

“We just got to our game right away,” Benson said of the first period. “On pucks, hounding it, and we made them turn it over, and we capitalized on our opportunities.”

Forechecking work by another line, McLeod’s, set up Bowen Byram for a fourth Buffalo goal in the period. The Sabres outshot the Bruins 19-5 in the first, and with all the additional takeaways and grade-A scoring chances, they easily could’ve taken another few goals into the intermission. That opening 20 made it clear: When the Sabres are on top of their game, the Bruins can’t keep up.

After a relatively even second period, Buffalo got a couple insurance goals in the third from Beck Malenstyn and Tuch to send Bruins fans home, Swayman back to the locker room and both teams back to Buffalo for a potential series clincher on Tuesday. With that in mind, Ruff’s message remains the same: “Go get one more.”

“We’ve done a good job in this series, but the fourth one is always the hardest,” echoed Byram. “We’ll all enjoy it and get ready to go again.”

Here’s more from the Game 4 win.

Lyon’s near-shutout

Alex Lyon, making his second straight start, was 40 seconds from a shutout when Boston’s Sean Kuraly scored a garbage-time goal. Still, he stopped 23 of 24 shots for his fifth career playoff win, and he’s got a league-leading .964 save percentage these playoffs.

“I hate the goal we gave up – as a group, as a team – after how well he’s played,” Ruff said. “But he’s really confident between the pipes right now.”

Zucker’s and Kozak’s statuses

Sabres forwards Jason Zucker and Tyson Kozak both missed the back half of the third period, but Ruff expects them to be fine – no need to rush them back with the game decided, the coach explained.

Owen and Bowen

Few second pairs around the league, if any, can control a game like Byram and Owen Power. They played 14:19 together at 5-on-5, during which Buffalo dominated in goals (3-0), shots (11-6) and expected goals (75.6%). Both guys have looked better and better as the series has gone on and the pace has increased.

Byram, a 2022 Stanley Cup winner with Colorado, has a goal in three straight games, five total points and a plus-seven rating.

“He's obviously been awesome all year and has brought it to another level in the playoffs,” Power said of his partner. “It's nice having him and all the other guys in here that have some playoff experience to lean on and have them help us, lead us.”

Power, meanwhile, is plus-six with an assist in each of the four games so far. He and Krebs just joined Danny Gare (1975) as the only Sabres with a four-game point streak (or better) to begin their playoff careers.

Zadorov takes a shot

After a late third-period whistle, Bruins defenseman Nikita Zadorov cross-checked Rasmus Dahlin so hard that his stick snapped, then punched the Sabres’ captain as well. A scrum ensued, with Benson in the middle of course.

“That type of raw emotion, it’s because a player’s so frustrated inside the game,” Ruff said. “There’s lots of banter back and forth inside the game. It’s not a play you want. I’m pretty sure if that’s the regular season, that might even be a suspension.”

Buffalo in the building

A healthy dose of Sabres fans repped the blue-and-gold inside TD Garden for Game 4, with some audible “Let’s go Buffalo” and “SWAYMAN” chants as the Bruins fans gradually cleared out.

“You come on the road, especially a place like Boston, they’ve got a good building that gets loud and gets behind their team,” Byram said. “It was awesome to see the fan support that traveled all the way to come here and support us. It’s a lot of fun playing in front of them, and I think we’re all pretty excited to get back to our rink for Game 5.”

Added Ruff: “I’ve seen the Blade Gang come to town, pretty cool; I’d actually like to play with those guys.”

Postgame sound

Up next

The series returns to KeyBank Center for Game 5 on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m., and the Sabres can advance to the second round with a win.

MSG’s pregame coverage starts at 7 and will be streaming on the Buffalo Sabres App. Catch the game on MSG (locally) and TNT, truTV and HBO Max (nationally). Party in the Plaza and Sabrehood Block Party info