{"id":556672,"date":"2026-04-20T12:54:38","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T12:54:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/556672\/"},"modified":"2026-04-20T12:54:38","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T12:54:38","slug":"bruins-talk-of-punishing-hockey-rings-hollow-after-game-1-collapse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/556672\/","title":{"rendered":"Bruins\u2019 talk of punishing hockey rings hollow after Game 1 collapse"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBoston Bruins\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\u201cEveryone’s going to say you can’t really lose a series in Game 1. But we put ourselves behind the eight ball.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Boston
\n\tMarco Sturm and the Bruins let a two-goal lead slip through their grasp in the third period on Sunday. AP Photo\/Jeffrey T. Barnes)\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBy Conor Ryan<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tApril 20, 2026 | 7:53 AM\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

5 minutes to read<\/p>\n

As a once raucous KeyBank Arena quieted in a nervous din of boos and groans in the waning minutes of the third period, it looked as though things were going according to plan for Marco Sturm and the Bruins<\/a> in Game 1 in Buffalo. \u00a0<\/p>\n

\u200bJeremy Swayman was dialed in against the expected flurry of pucks sailing his way.<\/p>\n

\u200bBoston\u2019s penalty kill regularly negated any momentum swings for Buffalo, going a perfect 4-for-4 on the night.<\/p>\n

\u200bAnd Boston\u2019s often-criticized first line of David Pastrnak, Morgan Geekie, and Elias Lindholm was landing punches \u2014 with Geekie and Lindholm both firing pucks past Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen to give Boston a 2-0 lead in the third.<\/p>\n

\u200bEven with the expected push from the Sabres in their first postseason game since 2011, Boston\u2019s stingy defensive approach clogged up Buffalo\u2019s high-paced approach for most of the third period.<\/p>\n

\u200bWith Boston holding that two-goal lead with just eight minutes to go in regulation, Buffalo only managed to land four shots on goal to that point in the final period of play.<\/p>\n

\u200bThe Bruins were seemingly primed to steal Game 1 of their first-round bout against the Sabres.<\/p>\n

And then, things unraveled \u2014 in disastrous fashion.<\/p>\n

In the span of just 6:46 of game action, Boston\u2019s two-goal lead flipped into a 4-2 Buffalo advantage \u2014 with the Sabres pouncing on miscue after miscue to revive their dormant barn on Sunday night.<\/p>\n

The end result? An eventual 4-3 win for the Sabres in Game 1 \u2014 and an ugly collapse from the Bruins to kick off their latest playoff run.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought we were in a perfect spot,\u201d Sturm said postgame. \u201cWe were exactly where we wanted to play, being in that position \u2014 five, six minutes left in a game. I mean, you could tell they got a little bit frustrated. And, yeah, we made, pretty much, two mistakes to let them tie up the game.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd then, obviously, with the crowd behind [them], all of a sudden they got some life and all of a sudden the game is done.\u201d<\/p>\n

There would be very few silver linings to draw out of any postseason game where a team \u2014 road game or not \u2014 coughed up a two-goal lead in such short order.<\/p>\n

As noted by Evolving Hockey<\/a>, the Sabres only had a 5.8 percent chance of winning before starting their comeback late in the third period. \u00a0<\/p>\n

But Boston\u2019s disheartening result on Sunday was made all the more painful due to the manner in which Buffalo stormed back to steal a win away from the Bruins. \u200b<\/p>\n

The Sabers\u2019 rush game didn\u2019t burn the Bruins in crunch time. It wasn\u2019t a parade to the penalty box by Bruins skaters that opened the door for a Buffalo rally. \u200b<\/p>\n

For all of the talk leading up to this series about the supposed edge that Boston had in terms of physicality and size<\/a>, it was the Sabres who imposed their will down the stretch \u2014 pulverizing Boston\u2019s puck carriers and forcing turnovers on each of their first three tallies in the third period.<\/p>\n

\u200bIt was a disheartening response for the Bruins, especially given Sturm\u2019s confident seal of approval of Boston\u2019s pugnacious approach just two days earlier.<\/p>\n

\u200b\u201cWe don\u2019t really care,\u201d Sturm said Friday of Buffalo\u2019s home-ice advantage when it comes to last change and chasing matchups. \u201cWe know how we have to play. We\u2019re going to be ready to go. We\u2019re excited.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are bigger, stronger. We are more physical. We just have to be smart. We\u2019re going to go after them and whoever comes in \u2014 first line, second \u2014 I don\u2019t really care. We try to play our game and not their game.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Bruins, indeed, didn\u2019t try to beat the Sabres at their own game on Sunday. Instead, Buffalo took a page out of Boston\u2019s playbook \u2014 \u00a0to devastating effect.<\/p>\n

\u200bIn need of a spark late, it was the Sabres who ratcheted up the physicality late \u2014 hammering Boston\u2019s puck carriers and making the Bruins\u2019 defensemen wilt under the pressure of a ferocious forecheck.<\/p>\n

\u200bYes, the Bruins might have a bit more heft and snarl on their roster when mashers like Tanner Jeannot, Mark Kastelic, and Nikita Zadorov are on the prowl.<\/p>\n

But Buffalo\u2019s forward corps is littered with fleet-footed skaters with both the skill and will to make teams pay \u2014 especially a Bruins team that opted to pack things and play not to lose after seizing that two-goal cushion.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe made them pay for those couple mistakes down low, where we beat guys back to the front of the net,\u201d Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff said postgame. \u201cThey weren\u2019t getting beat early on. I think maybe some of our physicality wore them down.\u201d<\/p>\n

Very few of Boston\u2019s blueliners were without fault for Sunday\u2019s late-game collapse.<\/p>\n

It was Charlie McAvoy who both misplayed the puck off a failed clear and then lost a battle behind the net to Tage Thompson \u2014 letting the 6-foot-6 Buffalo forward slip a puck past Swayman to make it a 2-1 game with 7:58 to go in regulation. \u200b<\/p>\n

\u200bAn unforced icing from Nikita Zadorov set the stage for Thompson to strike on another O-zone shift just minutes later.<\/p>\n

Amid that fracas, it was Andrew Peeke who failed to make the clear to alleviate the pressure generated by Buffalo, with Alex Tuch picking his pocket in Grade-A ice.<\/p>\n

Thompson then beat Elias Lindholm to the skittering puck, sending a wrist shot just under Swayman\u2019s pads to knot the game at 2-2 with 4:16 left in regulation.\u200b<\/p>\n

\u200bThere would be no chance for Boston to try to right the ship in overtime.<\/p>\n

Hampus Lindholm\u2019s failed clear \u2014 granted, as a result of his stick snapping behind the net \u2014 allowed Buffalo to strike once again. \u00a0After Jack Quinn scooped up the loose puck, he fed it up to Mattias Samuelsson in the high slot, who snapped a puck into twine to give Buffalo its first lead of the night with 3:24 to go. \u200b<\/p>\n

An empty-netter from Tuch sealed the win for Buffalo, with David Pastrnak\u2019s power-play goal with eight seconds to go too little, too late for the Bruins.<\/p>\n

Boston\u2019s second line of Pavel Zacha, Viktor Arvidsson, and Casey Mittelstadt \u2014 a pillar of strength for the Bruins all season long \u2014 also had a night to forget. In that line\u2019s 9:09 of 5-on-5 reps on Sunday, the Bruins were outscored, 2-0, and outshot, 6-3.<\/p>\n

\u201cTough outcome,\u201d Pastrnak said postgame. \u201cWe had it. We had a good lead. We got the second goal early in the third and didn\u2019t get the job done. It\u2019s unfortunate.\u201d\u200b<\/p>\n

The Bruins preached confidence postgame in their ability to turn things around, despite the optics of that third-period implosion.<\/p>\n

Still, it will be tough to shake off a result such as Sunday\u2019s \u2014 a game where Boston let a much-needed road win slip through their grasp by being bested by their own on-ice approach.<\/p>\n

\u200b\u201cIt\u2019s a seven-game series,\u201d Morgan Geekie said. \u201cEveryone\u2019s going to say you can\u2019t really lose a series in Game 1. But we put ourselves behind the eight ball.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\"Profile\t<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Conor Ryan is a staff writer covering the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox for Boston.com, a role he has held since 2023.<\/p>\n

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