Sabres at Bruins

The official word on Boston Bruins defenseman Hampus Lindholm is day-to-day with an undisclosed, lower-body injury, the collective sigh of relief coming with Coach Marco Sturm’s postgame word that the reason Lindholm left Thursday night’s season opener and did not return is unrelated to the broken kneecap he sustained early last season – never to return.

Jeremy Swayman is back in goal, so the Bruins are looking for their third straight goaltending performance. Swayman and Joonas Korpisalo were so solid in the first two games of the season that it reminds Rink Rap of the early-season work of Swayman and Linus Ullmark. Those two told a lot of lies about how well the Bruins were playing.

Tonight the 2-0-0 B’s face the 0-1-0 Buffalo Sabres, the team that keeps drafting for the rest of the National Hockey League. When does the madness end in Buffalo? Every game this season will be Buffalo’s attempt to answer that question.

FIRST PERIOD

Nikita Zadorov puts 6-foot-6, 226-pound defenseman Owen Power into the Boston bench.

The hit was a no-doubt crowd pleaser, but the Sabres have spent most of the game’s first three minutes in the Boston zone.

The Sabres are giving the Bruins the middle of the rink, and the Bruins are trying to use it. Morgan Geekie picked off the pass in the Boston zone and headmanned the puck to David Pastrnak, who warded off Buffalo defenseman Conor Timmins well enough to get a backhand away at Alex Lyon. Later, Viktor Arvidsson took a pass up the middle and snapped a shot from the high slot that Lyon stopped.

Mark Kastelic got position to cut off a Lyon clearing attempt but missed the puck.

Charlie McAvoy misfired on a shot from the right point, and the Sabres were so thrown off that they couldn’t get to Morgan Geekie, who swatted the puck on net from directly in front of Lyon – save.

Bruins are outshooting Buffalo 5-1 through half the period, but much of the game has been inside the Boston zone.

Timmins is going to the box at 10:41, putting the Bruins on the first powerplay of the game.

McAvoy mishandles the puck at the left point, eventually Alex Tuch gets a 1v1 with David Pastrnak and makes a horrible deke. Bruins dodge a bullet.

Officially, the Bruins are now outshooting Buffalo 12-1, but from here two of the last four shots may have been off the mark.

Fraser Minten banks the puck to himself past the Buffalo point man, Bruins trade passes on the ensuing 3-on-1, but as time and space was running out Minten put the shot right into Lyon.

Jordan Harris, playing in place of Hampus Lindholm, carries deep, passes back to Pavel Zacha in the left circle and gets his first assist as a Bruin. 1-0.

Jiri Kulich to the penalty box for tripping with 3:38 left in the first period. Big pressure by the Bruins.

First-period shots: 16-1 Boston

CORRECTION (via official update): 17-2

SECOND PERIOD

If you missed it earlier today, Kevin Paul Dupont of The Boston Globe may have the nickname for the Bruins’ fourth line of Marat Khusnutdinov, Sean Kuraly and Mark Kastelic, which is starting the second period: Special K’s (like the cereal). This in response to my post on X after my texting group of over a dozen Boston fans (all the major sports) began musing to this purpose. I told the amazing Lauren (my way-better half), who suggested Y3K. I kinda like that…

Morgan Geekie in the penalty box, and the Sabres on the powerplay looking for the tying goal.

Sabres’ off-the-rush drop pass (that every team uses to freeze the penalty killers) went astray. Tanner Jeannot went on the chase. Buffalo recovered the puck and Minten chased down the play, stealing the puck and setting up a 2-on-1 with Jeannot, whose shot was blocked by Lyon. (Lyon stayed on his feet throughout, so not sure why Jeannot didn’t shoot low stick or 5-hole.)

Minten to the box for tripping Jack Quinn, and on the delayed penalty Swayman makes his best save thus far, denying Peyton Krebs at the right post.

Kastelic steal on the PK but can’t get the breakaway around Lyon. Buffalo PIM, however, as Power goes to the box for hooking Kastelic. Minten’s PIM had expired, so full PP for Boston.

Bruins with pressure, and Lyon makes a great glove save on Elias Lindholm.

Power gets a 2-on- for Buffalo but misses the net. Had the glass not been there, the puck probably would have reached Kenmore Square.

Meantime, Kastelic fires a loose puck at the net from the right point, and the Bruins become beneficiary of a weird deflection, 2-0, at 10:21 of the second period.

Swayman stops Josh Doan on the backhand in tight. Big save, Bruins were there to clear the dribbling rebound.

Sabres keep turning the puck over coming out of their D zone. Lyon has been immense in keeping the visitors within striking distance, down 2-0 late second.

Thompson off for interference with 2:10 remaining in the second period.

Buffalo gets a bounce and Pastrnak has to interference with Tuch, who still gets his 2-on-1 chance – save Swayman.

It’ll be 4v4 for 1:05, then a Buffalo powerplay that will overlap 46 seconds into the third period.

Shots 12-9 Buffalo for the second (26-14 Boston through two periods).

2-0 after two.

THIRD PERIOD

The Bruins were masterful over the period’s first several minutes, backchecking to death any mistake or bad bounce and frustrating the desperate Sabres.

Geekie picked off a pass at the Boston blue line and hit Pastrnak, but Lyon made the save. Geekie almost took a delay-of-game penalty, but his baseball swing at an aerial puck whiffed.

Buffalo scores at 9:46, as the third line turns the puck over at center, and Jason Zucker snaps off a shot from left circle that deflects off a defender and past Swayman to make it a nail biter with 10 minutes left to play. Mattias Samuelsson with the assist.

McAvoy to the box for grabbing at a Buffalo winger in the Boston zone with 9:53 remaining.

This game has suddenly gotten dicey, and Lyon is too blame. Excellent performance by the Sabres starter.

McAvoy powers the puck from the corner and knocks down Krebs, takes high shoves from Krebs and linemate Justin Danforth, right in front of the referee, who says play on. It then gets scrummy at the Zamboni corner with under 5:00 in regulation.

Ryan McLeod saves a goal (Elias Lindholm’s roller toward the empty net).

Big scrambles ensue, and it’s a faceoff in the Bruins’ end with 11.1 seconds remaining in a 2-1 Boston game. Krebs made the play, but the Bruins disrupted the point-blank shot attempt. Great efforts by Elias Lindholm and Pavel Zacha.

Bruins get the ENG with 2.2 seconds. Strong defense by McAvoy throughout.

Bruins are going to win 3-1. They will be 3-0-0 going into Monday’s matinee against Tampa Bay.

Drive safely.