The Boston Bruins kick off their first-round series against the Buffalo Sabres on Sunday on the road. This is a game that is very important for the Bruins to win, as it would give them early control of the series. The Sabres will certainly not be an easy opponent for the Bruins, though. The Sabres finished this campaign at the top of the Atlantic Division standings with a 50-23-9 record and were the NHL's hottest team during the second half of the campaign. Thus, the Bruins will need to be on their A-game if they hope to knock out Buffalo. However, the majority of ESPN's staff [https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/48516715/nhl-playoffs-2026-stanley-cup-bracket-picks-mvp-matchups-series] is betting against the Bruins in their series against Buffalo. This is because 19 out of 26 members of ESPN's staff predicted that the Sabres would defeat the Bruins in the first round. When noting that the Sabres dominated down the stretch this campaign, it is understandable that many have confidence in them heading into the first round. While this is the case, the Bruins also absolutely have the potential to surprise and knock out Buffalo. The Bruins have star players like David Pastrnak, Charlie McAvoy, Jeremy Swayman, Pavel Zacha, and Morgan Geekie who could very well carry them to a series win. The Bruins also have plenty of tough players who could make things difficult for the Sabres, like Tanner Jeannot, Mark Kastelic, Nikita Zadorov, and Sean Kuraly. It will be interesting to see if the Bruins can prove their doubters wrong and steal this series against the Sabres.
