“[The belief within the team] hasn’t wavered at all,” Sabres forward Alex Tuch said. “We have everyone contributing, we have everyone playing really good defense, we’re not giving up too much. It’s winning hockey. This is what we’ve been building towards.”

When: Saturday, 7 p.m.

Where: KeyBank Center, Buffalo

TV, radio: NESN, WBZ-FM 98.5

Line: Buffalo -140. O/U: 6.5.

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BRUINS

Season record: 20-17-1. vs. spread: 25-13. Over/under: 22-16

Last 10 games: 5-4-1. vs. spread: 5-5. Over/under: 7-3

SABRES

Season record: 18-14-4. vs. spread: 17-19. Over/under: 16-18, 2 pushes

Last 10 games: 7-3-0. vs. spread: 5-5. Over/under: 4-6

TEAM STATISTICS

Goals scored: Boston 120, Buffalo 109

Goals allowed: Boston 125, Buffalo 117

Power play: Boston 25.4%, Buffalo 20.2%

Penalty minutes: Boston 522, Buffalo 341

Penalty kill: Boston 79.2%, Buffalo 84.5%

Faceoffs won: Boston 51.9%, Buffalo 43.8%

Stat of the day: The Sabres have the NHL’s second-best penalty killing unit (84.5 percent).

Notes: The Bruins allowed six goals in each of their last two games. … Boston entered its recent homestand on Dec. 16 just one point behind the division-leading Red Wings, while the Sabres were still two points deep in the conference’s cellar. Since then, Boston and Buffalo have joined a group of eight teams separated by just three points. … Sabres defenseman Bowen Byram scored his team-leading third game-winning goal of the season 31 seconds into overtime against the Senators on Tuesday. …Buffalo’s Rasmus Dahlin is tied for ninth among NHL defensemen in points (28), while Byram has points in back-to-back contests. … Boston’s Marat Khusnutdinov has a three-game point streak. … The Bruins have been whistled for 25 more penalties than any other team in the NHL (193), and Tuesday marked their second time this season going shorthanded seven times in a game.

Information from Stats and Field Level Media was used in this report.

Matt Pepin can be reached at matt.pepin@globe.com.