In that time, the Bruins have won a Stanley Cup (2011) and played in two more Finals (2013, 2019).

That experience seems to have Boston coach Marco Sturm, in his first season, oozing with confidence.

“We know how we have to play, we’re going to be ready to go,” Sturm said Friday. “We’re excited. We are bigger, stronger, we are more physical. We just have to be smart, but we’re going to go after them.”

Buffalo forward Josh Doan said on Saturday that those comments have been seen and heard by the Sabres.

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“At the end of the day, I think our group trusts what we’re doing here and we’ll just let that play out throughout the series,” he said. “We’re going to stick to our game plan. So, it’s one of those things that you see, but at the end of the day there’s no real response from us in this room.”

Here’s a look at the Globe’s stories leading into this playoff series. Read on for a preview.

When: Sunday, 7:30 p.m.

Where: KeyBank Center, Buffalo

TV, radio: NESN, ESPN, WBZ-FM 98.5

Line: Buffalo -165. O/U: 6.0.

BRUINS

Season record: 45-27-10. vs. spread: 54-28. Over/under: 43-38, 1 push

Last 10 games: 5-3-2. vs. spread: 8-2. Over/under: 4-6

SABRES

Season record: 50-23-9. vs. spread: 48-34. Over/under: 38-41, 3 pushes

Last 10 games: 6-3-1. vs. spread: 5-5. Over/under: 5-5

TEAM STATISTICS

Goals scored: Boston 268, Buffalo 283

Goals allowed: Boston 247, Buffalo 240

Power play: Boston 23.4%, Buffalo 19.5%

Penalty minutes: Boston 978, Buffalo 797

Penalty kill: Boston 76.9%, Buffalo 81.9%

Faceoffs won: Boston 53.1%, Buffalo 45.9%

Stat of the day: Boston won three out of four meetings with Buffalo this season, most recently a 4-3 overtime win on March 25.

Notes: David Pastrnak finished the regular season with exactly 100 points (29 goals, 71 assists) — the fourth straight year he has hit triple digits. … After Pastrnak, however, the Bruins have a significant drop-off in point totals with Morgan Geekie next at 68 points (39 goals, 29 assists). … Sturm said he doesn’t expect Sabres coach Lindy Ruff to try to match up line for line. “In the past, Lindy wasn’t really a big matchup guy,” Sturm said. “He did his thing, so we’ll see where it goes. Maybe he does it differently in the playoffs, but we don’t really care.” … The Sabres not only ended the NHL’s longest active playoff drought at 14 years, they won the Atlantic Division by three points over the Tampa Bay Lightning. … Buffalo doesn’t have a 100-point scorer, but Tage Thompson remains one of the top centers in the league. He followed up last year’s 44-goal output with 40 goals and 41 assists this year. … The Sabres also boast one of the top offensive defensemen in Rasmus Dahlin, who finished second on the team with 74 points (19 goals, 55 assists). That ranked sixth among all NHL defensemen.

Information from Field Level Media was used in this report

Katie McInerney can be reached at katie.mcinerney@globe.com. Follow her on Instagram at @katiemac.sports.