Sabres Looking To Take Commanding Lead Over Bruins In Boston

Buffalo Sabres - Boston Bruins Game Preview - Sabres Lead Series 2-1 

4/26/26 - 2:00 pm at TD Garden in Boston, MA

Buffalo – 50-23-9 | - 109  points – 1st place in the Atlantic Division

Boston  – 45-27-10 | - 100 points – 4th place in the Atlantic Division

Special Teams

Buffalo

Power Play(Reg) – 19.5% (21st)

Power Play(Playoffs) - 0 for 14 - 0% (15th) 

Penalty Kill(Reg) – 81.9% (4th)

Penalty Kill(Playoffs) - 10 for 12 - 83.3% (7th) 

Boston

Power Play(Reg) – 23.4% (9th)

Power Play(Playoffs) - 2 for 12 - 16.7% (8th)

Penalty Kill(Reg) - 77.0% (24th)

Penalty Kill(Playoffs) - 100% - 14 for 14 (1st)

Top Scorers

Buffalo

Alex Tuch: 3 GP, 2 G, 2 A, 4 PTS

Bowen Byram: 3 GP, 2 G, 1 A, 3 PTS

Tage Thompson: 3 GP, 2 G, 1 A, 3 PTS

Boston

David Pastrnak: 3 GP, 1 G, 4 A, 5 PTS

Morgan Geekie: 3 GP, 2 G, 2 A, 4 PTS

Viktor Arvidsson: 3 GP, 2 G, 0 A, 2 PTS

Starting Goalies

Buffalo – Alex Lyon (1-0, 0.81 GAA, .969 Sv %)

Boston  – Jeremy Swayman (1-2, 2.38 GAA, .931 Sv %)  

Other Sabres Stories

Six Former Sabres Who Signed Elsewhere

Sabres Line Combinations and Pairings (projected)

Forwards

Peyton Krebs   - Tage Thompson - Alex Tuch

Zach Benson - Noah Ostlund - Josh Doan 

Jason Zucker - Ryan McLeod - Jack Quinn  

Jordan Greenway - Tyson Kozak - Beck Malenstyn

Ex., Tanner Pearson,, Josh Dunne

Defense

Mattias Samuelsson - Rasmus Dahlin

Owen Power - Bowen Byram 

Logan Stanley - Conor Timmins 

Ex. Luke Schenn, Michael Kesselring, Zach Metsa

Goaltenders

Alex Lyon

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen

Colten Ellis

Injuries

Justin Danforth (lower body, Oct. 18; injured reserve)

Jiri Kulich (blood clot, Nov. 4; injured reserve - out for the season) 

Sam Carrick (upper body, Mar. 31; injured reserve)

Josh Norris (unspecified, Apr 21; day-to-day)

Notes

A win today would give Buffalo back-to-back road playoff wins for the first time since the Sabres won two consecutive road playoff games from April 16 to 18, 2007 at the New York Islanders. It would mark the first time the Sabres have earned two consecutive playoff wins since April 20 to 22, 2011 against the Philadelphia Flyers. Buffalo last won consecutive playoff games against Boston from May 9 to 14, 1999 (three games). A win today would mark the second time in franchise history that the Sabres have earned consecutive road playoff wins against the Bruins (two games; April 18 to 20, 1993). 

Owen Power has registered an assist in all three games of the series and he is the third skater in franchise history to record at least one assist in the first three playoff games in their career. Power joined Marc-Andre Gragnani (three games; April 14 to 18, 2011; 0+4) and Richard Smehlik (three games; April 18 to 22, 1993; 0+4). An assist today would make Power the only skater in franchise history to register an assist in the first four playoff games of their career. With any point today, he would join Danny Gare (seven games; April 13 to 29, 1975; 5+3) as the only Sabres skaters to record at least one point in the first four playoff games of their career. 

Peyton Krebs (1+2) has also recorded one point in every game of the series and can join Gare with a point today. Krebs has a plus/minus of plus-5 through the first three games of the series, the best mark by a Buffalo skater in their first three playoff games with the Sabres all-time. 

Noah Ostlund’s two points (1+1) in Game 3 made him the first Sabres rookie to record multiple points in the first playoff game of their career since Richard Smehlik on April 18, 1993 at Boston (0+2). Ostlund joined Pierre Turgeon (April 6, 1988 at Boston; 2+1) as the only Sabres rookies to record at least one goal and one assist in their first career playoff game. Ostlund, Smehlik, Turgeon and Bill Stewart (April 11, 1978 vs. NY Rangers; 0+2) are the only Buffalo rookies to register a multi-point performance in the first playoff game of their career all-time. He would join Paul Gaustad (April 22 to 24, 2006; 0+3) and Jason Pominville (April 22 to 24, 2006; 3+1) as the only Sabres skaters to collect three or more points in the first two playoff games of their career with a point today. 

Alex Tuch has posted at least one point in all three games of the series (2+2) and a point today would give him the first fourgame point streak by a Sabres skater in the playoffs since Pominville from April 16 to 22, 2011 (four games; 1+3). With a point today, Tuch would become the first Sabres skater to register five or more points in their first four playoff games with Buffalo since Dainius Zubrus from April 12 to 18, 2007 (0+5). He would be the 10th Sabres skater to do so all-time. Tuch has two game-winning goals in this year’s playoffs and entering play Saturday, he was tied for 13th all-time among active players with eight career playoff game-winning goals. 

Alex Lyon earned a win in his first playoff start with Buffalo in Game 3 and a win today would make him the first Buffalo goaltender to earn two straight playoff wins since Ryan Miller from April 20 to 22, 2011.

Bowen Byram has recorded a goal in back-to-back games and a goal today would give him the first playoff goal streak of three or more games by a Sabres defenseman since Ken Sutton from May 4 to 8, 1993 (three games; 3+0). A multi-point performance would make Byram the first Buffalo defenseman to record back-to-back multi-point games in the playoffs since Tyler Myers from April 24 to 26, 2011 (two games; 1+4). With a goal tonight, Byram would join Mike Ramsey (three games; April 14 to 17, 1983; 3+0) as the only defensemen in franchise history to record a goal streak of three or more games against Boston in the playoffs. He would be the first Sabres skater since Alexander Mogilny from April 18 to 24, 1993 (four games; 6+1) to register a goal streak of three or more games against the Bruins in the playoffs.

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