Game 4: Bruins bring changes

The outcome is rarely if ever good for the team that decides it must make drastic personnel or strategic changes in a playoff series.

Bruins coach Marco Sturm did that, making the expected change of substituting for rookie James Hagens, whose game has faded as this series with the Buffalo Sabres has ramped up.

In midgame conversation Thursday with colleague Shawn Hutcheon of the Fourth Period, I suggested Mikey Eyssimont would be able to at least stir the pot in the Buffalo zone, perhaps upset the rhythm of the Sabres’ superior breakout, if only on a short-term basis. Hutcheon suggested Lukas Reichel, and Sturm agreed.

The Bruins want to become the team that uncorks Reichel’s obvious potential. The guy skates like the wind and has excellent hand-eye. What he has apparently heretofore lacked in his career has been the passion for the game that fuels engagement with the process.

Sturm was careful to exonerate Hagens from any wrongdoing, referring to that very process where it concerns the Boston College product chosen seventh overall by the Bruins in last year’s NHL Draft.

What came as more of a surprise was today’s decision to insert Jordan Harris into the lineup. Nikita Zadorov got banged up in Game 3 and took a shortened pregame warmup, but Zadorov is in and Mason Lohrei is out for Game 4. Harris is slotted into Lohrei’s spot opposite Hampus Lindholm.

One on hand, it makes perfect sense that Sturm told the media gathering before the game that the inserted players need to focus on their strengths. Ironically, those are the same basic strengths of the players they have been slotted in to replace.

Here’s the other weird thing.

The Bruins have a massive problem breaking out the puck 5-on-5 when Charlie McAvoy is not the right-shot defenseman doing the breaking out of the puck. Andrew Peeke has been thrown into a cauldron of highly skilled, fast forecheckers and needs greater forward support to survive in a role he wasn’t meant to have in the first place.

That should be Henri Jokiharju playing top-four minutes as the second RHD behind McAvoy. Instead, it’s been Peeke’s job and, when he’s not on the ice, Lohrei’s.

Lohrei is a left shot. Sturm would rather have Harris, yet another left shot, in the lineup over Jokiharju.

Jokiharju, meanwhile, watches from upstairs, with no resolution to his situation in site.

One other related note: The Bruins are making changes they hadn’t considered for 82 games. The team that finds itself is that position is invariably trying to solve problems it cannot solve without offseason changes.

NESN play-by-play legend Jack Edwards, who is among this year’s inductees to the Massachusetts Broadcasters Hall of Fame (to be honored June 4), is your Game 4 fan banner captain.

FIRST PERIOD

Reichel starts the game in Hagens’ spot with Fraser Minten and Marat Khusnutdinov and has a shot from the high slot off the rush in the game’s opening minute. The shot is blocked.

Swayman had already made six saves in four minutes before Minten turned the puck over and one pass later the Sabres’ Peyton Krebs gave the visitors a 1-0 lead. It was an uncharacteristic turnover by Minten, who has been Boston’s most-reliable defensive forward.

McAvoy thumps Josh Doan, who stays down for several seconds before getting to the Buffalo bench. Coincidentally, the Bruins were called for too many men on the ice.

Doan with two big plays, a knockdown hit on Tanner Jeannot, who took the hit to make a play on the penalty kill, and at the offensive end the finishing touch on the Sabres’ first powerplay goal in forever, 2-0, just 7:10 into the game.

And now we get our answer to what if Buffalo finally capitalizes on one of its strong starts and what if Buffalo finally gets the powerplay going…

Harris is caught out by the right point, as Zach Benson carries in and scores to make it 3-0 at 9:15.

Sturm uses his timeout. Swayman didn’t have to call this one.

Bowen Byram makes it 4-0 at 14:24. Swayman points to the official in hopes of a goalie-interference call. None forthcoming.

Swayman just got a smattering of Bronx cheers on a routine stop. The Bruins are now being outshot 17-2. April 26, 2026.

Minten stole from Logan Stanley and was all alone, but Alex Lyon made sure the Bruins got no life before first intermission.

Now the Buffalo fans in attendance are chanting “Swayman…” This, in TD Garden. They should know what that leads to.

David Pastrnak is loudly booed by the home crowd after mishandling the puck while approaching the Buffalo blue line.

The “one minute remaining” announcement gets cheered.

Lyon stops Pavel Zacha from the high slot and knocks away a rebound try. Shots are now 19-5 Sabres with 30.3 seconds left in the first period.

SECOND PERIOD

Zadorov to the box for boarding. Bruins have close calls but get the kill. Still a long way to go.

Reichel just used his extraordinary speed to reach the spot where he could have shot the puck into the open side, but as rust would have it, the puck bounced away from his stick blade and the window of opportunity closed. So the reward that the Bruins hope comes with risk was elusive on that play. Will there be more for Reichel today or in this series? Time will tell, but it’s been a frustrating afternoon for the Bruins.

The good news with the 4-0 deficit is the Bruins are playing looser. Have the Sabres taken their foot off the gas? Well their physical game is not quite as structured with the big lead.

Meantime, Pastrnak has a possession behind the Buffalo net but misses a telegraphed reverse hit intended for Rasmus Dahlin, who skates away with the puck. Pasta is the most out-of-sorts I’ve ever seen him. If he had open ice in the first period, he’d break up his own play. He seems to be bearing down a bit in the second, which is necessary whether it translates into a hard grip upon a scoring chance or not.

The Bruins’ eighth shot of the game (midway through the second period) gets a smattering of Bronx cheers.

Zadorov hits the post – big crowd reaction – then hits Tage Thompson hard in the corner.

The Bruins then have extended possession in the Buffalo zone through a shift change, but the one really good shot attempt skipped on Hampus Lindholm, who lost the window while regrouping.

Zadorov with another big hit, falls on the Buffalo player, gets some on-ice response, to which Tanner Jeannot breaks his stick hitting that player (Rasmus Dahlin).

This is finally feeling like a Bruins game, as the physicality ramps up, the battle level intensifies, and the Bruins mount scoring chances if not quality shots. One of those was almost Morgan Geekie’s, but from tight range he opted to force a pass toward Pastrnak that was read and picked off, bringing out the loudest groan of the game.

Jordan Greenway then holds Jonathan Aspirot during one of those rock-em, sock-em moments in the neutral zone where inches and split seconds separate which team gets a big hit or an odd-man rush. So Boston to the powerplay, as the second period continues to look more like a Bruins home game.

Buffalo gets the kill.

The Bruins are once again frustrated, turning down what look from the ninth floor like open shots and instead try to thread needles to make perfect plays as if Terry Sawchuk was guarding the net wearing modern equipment. Of course, the play to Geekie at the post doesn’t quite connect. That’s how it’s gone offensively for the Bruins.

If that isn’t enough, Viktor Arvidsson, Sturm’s answer to every question that hockey has thrown his way this season, is not available after being limited to 3:13 in ice time before an upper-body injury truncated his afternoon at the rink.

Shots after two are far more respectable at 23-14 Buffalo.

THIRD PERIOD

Tyson Kozak gets a point-blank chance that Swayman shuts down.

McAvoy cuts in front, loses the puck, tries again to make a play from deep left wing, gets the puck inside where Geekie tries to roof it on Lyon, who has the post locked up.

Jay Miller and Tim Thomas were briefly featured on the video board watching the game from the Bruins Alumni box. Miller is among this year’s inductees to the Massachusetts Hockey Hall of Fame to be honored next weekend at the organization’s annual luncheon in Falmouth.

Buffalo adds a fifth goal 5:08 into the third period on a tip by Beck Malenstyn, who on his prior shift knocked Pavel Zacha flying.

Thompson to Tuch and it’s 6-0 with 13:28 left. Now we wonder about a goalie switch.

On May 9, 1991, Reggie Lemelin mopped up for starter Andy Moog with 11:46 remaining in a 7-2 debacle against the Mario Lemieux, Stanley Cup-bound Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 5 of their Eastern Conference Final at Boston Garden. Joonas Korpisalo takes the net today for the #NHLBruins with 13:28 left in Game 4, down 6-0. Pittsburgh won Game 6 at home, 5-3, but it was a tight game won on a third-period goal by Penguins rookie and future Bruin Mark Recchi (Lemieux added an ENG). This game was more infamously remembered for Ulf Samuelsson’s hit that altered the path of Cam Neely’s Hall of Fame career.

Hampus Lindholm to the box for slashing with 5:24 left.

We’re heading downstairs. Any further updates today can be found on X @MickColageo.

Drive safely.