Boston Bruins Vs Buffalo Sabres
Arena: HSBC Arena
Time: Thursday, 15 April, 2010 at 7:00 PM ET
League: NHL – United States of America
Last 10 matches: Boston 6-3-1; Buffalo 5-5-0
The Bruins won four of the six meetings and outscored the Sabres 15-11 in the season series although two victories came against Buffalo backup goalies Jonas Enroth and Patrik Lalime. Rookie defenseman Tyler Myers (2-3-5) led the Sabres in scoring against the Bruins, while reigning Norris Trophy winner Zdeno Chara (1-6-7) led the Bruins against Buffalo. Captain Chara was plus-9.
The Bruins won, 4-2, in Boston on Nov. 7 and 2-1 in overtime on Nov. 20 in Buffalo. The Sabres won, 2-1, on Jan. 29 in Buffalo. The Bruins won, 3-2, in a shootout on Feb. 9 in Buffalo. The Sabres won, 3-2, on March 29 in Boston. Boston had the upper hand, 3-1, at home on April 8. The winning team scored three or fewer goals in five of the six games.The Sabres are East’s No. 3 seed as the Northeast Division champions in their first playoff appearance since 2007. They host the 2009 Northeast champions, who slipped to third in the division and sixth in the Eastern Conference. The series matches the top two goalies in goals-against average and save percentage. Boston rookie Tuukka Rask went 22-12-5 with a league-leading 1.97 GAA and .931 save percentage. Buffalo’s Ryan Miller went 41-18-8 with a 2.22 GAA and .929 save percentage. Both are backed by established veterans, reigning Vezina Trophy winner Tim Thomas in Boston and Patrick Lalime in Buffalo. But Miller (34) and Lalime (41) have played a combined 75 playoff games while Thomas (18) and Rask (0) have played 18.
Both teams feature a hard forecheck and tight neutral-zone defense. Buffalo was tied for the ninth-best offense while Boston was the lowest-scoring team in the NHL. Buffalo had the second-best penalty kill and Boston was third. The Bruins were the East’s second-best road team while the Sabres tied for third-best at home. Boston coach Claude Julien’s teams have never faced Buffalo in the playoffs while Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff is 4-2 against Boston. His 1999 team beat Boston in the second round in six games en route to the Stanley Cup Final they lost in six games to Dallas.
Dont expect a lot of goals in this series. Boston was the NHL’s second-best defensive team, allowing only 2.33 goals per game, and Buffalo was fourth, allowing only 2.45 per game. Buffalo was 17th on the power play with 17.6 percent efficiency while Boston was 23rd, scoring 16.6 percent. Buffalo killed 86.6 percent of its penalties, second-best in the NHL. Boston killed 86.4 percent, third-best. Boston averaged 31.7 shots per game; Buffalo averaged 31.6, 7th and 8th, respectively. Boston allowed 29.8 shots per game, 14th; Buffalo allowed 31.4, 21st. Boston won 52.6 percent of faceoffs, 2nd-best; Buffalo won 48.6, 23rd. Buffalo’s 11.2 minutes of penalties per game was fourth-lowest. Boston’s 11.6 was 11th-lowest. The Bruins had the third-fewest third-period goals in the NHL.
Bruins center Marc Savard is out for the season with a head injury. Defenseman Mark Stuart will miss this series after finger surgery. Defenseman Dennis Seidenberg is out indefinitely after arm surgery. Defenseman Andrew Ference missed the past nine games with groin problems but is probable for Thursday. … Buffalo right wing Drew Stafford suffered a concussion on his first shift Saturday against Ottawa and is questionable for Thursday. Connolly missed the past nine games with a foot injury and is questionable. Left wing Jochen Hecht missed three games with an upper-body injury and is questionable. Left wing Raffi Torres missed six games in late March with an upper-body injury, returned with a three-assist game and has no points in his last seven games. Right wing Patrick Kaleta returned Sunday after missing seven games with a thumb injury and should be ready. Highlights and results will be available soon.. stay tuned.