BUFFALO, NY -- The Boston Bruins thought they were on their way to a 1-0 series lead against the Buffalo Sabres, until they weren't.
In a stunning six minutes and 46 seconds, Boston went from leading 2-0 in the final 8 minutes of the third period to losing 4-2, ultimately falling 4-3.
Postgame, Bruins Head Coach Marco Sturm still couldn't fully believe it.
"I thought we were in the perfect spot," Sturm said. "We were exactly where we wanted to play, being in that position, five-six minutes left in a game... "[It's] really unfortunate, because my guys played really well. Really well. But that's playoffs, that's something we have to learn again, the hard way. We just got to stick with it for 60 minutes."
The shell shock in Boston came with some quiet confidence that they can turn it around and get a win in Game 2.
Who else is feeling confident? The Buffalo Sabres.
"We won a couple of battles behind the net," Sabres Head Coach Lindy Ruff said. "We beat their guys back to the front of the net... We made them pay for those couple of mistakes down low. They weren't getting beat early..."
Then, Ruff finished his statement with a jab back at the Bruins, who Sturm had declared the more physical team before the series.
"I think maybe some of our physicality wore them down."
That jab comes with some sting. Buffalo outhit the Bruins 53-38, and played a big factor in the breaking of the dam.
That, along with Buffalo's raucous crowd, flipped the game.
The Bruins can only look to answer with added physicality and brute force of their own, along with more sustained offense.
Buffalo outshot Boston 38-20 in Game 1, which is not an ideal outcome for Boston either.
They'll get their chance for redemption in Game 2 on Tuesday night, once again inside what will be an insane environment inside the KeyBank Center.