Five key takeaways from Bruins' stunning Game 1 loss vs. Sabres originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

The Boston Bruins had the Buffalo Sabres in a difficult spot with less than half the third period remaining in Sunday night’s Game 1 at KeyBank Center.

The B’s led 2-0 with eight minutes on the clock. Jeremy Swayman was playing fantastic in net. Defensively, the Bruins were giving up a lot of shots, but not too many Grade A scoring chances. The Sabres had a mere 5.8 percent chance of mounting a comeback and winning the game at that point, per Evolving Hockey.

But then everything changed.

The Sabres scored four unanswered goals in a 6:46 span and won the series opener 4-3. It’s the Sabres’ first playoff victory in 15 years, and it required a feat never seen in the history of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The @BuffaloSabres became the first team in NHL postseason history to win in regulation time after trailing by two or more goals to zero with eight minutes or fewer remaining in regulation. pic.twitter.com/P0Hss3ROyo
— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) April 20, 2026

“I thought we were in the perfect spot,” Bruins coach Marco Sturm told reporters in his postgame press conference. “We were exactly where we wanted to play, being in that position, 5-6 minutes left in the game. You could tell they got a little bit frustrated. We made pretty much two mistakes to let them tie up the game. With the crowd behind them, all of a sudden, they’ve got some life. All of a sudden, the game is done.”

There were a few positives for the Bruins, but this was a gut-wrenching loss and a huge blown opportunity. Instead of handing a tough defeat to a young and inexperienced Sabres team, now that group has a ton of confidence and belief entering Game 2.

What led to the Bruins’ collapse, and what needs to happen for them to bounce back in the next game Tuesday night?

Here are five takeaways from the Bruins’ Game 1 meltdown.

1. Bruins played not to lose in third period

The B’s did not play with enough of a killer instinct in the third period. They seemed content to play it safe with a 2-0 lead. They had very little offensive zone time and had absolutely no answer for the Sabres’ forecheck.

Boston’s defensemen wilted under the pressure of that forecheck, and it allowed the Sabres to control possession and fire a ton of shots at Swayman. It was only a matter of time before the dam broke, and it finally happened with 7:58 remaining in the third period when Tage Thompson scored Buffalo’s first goal. Charlie McAvoy turned the puck over trying to exit the zone right before this goal.

TAGE THOMPSON SCORES THE SABRES FIRST PLAYOFF GOAL SINCE 2011 🚨 pic.twitter.com/2KbVEZeSqr
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 20, 2026

Thompson scored again just 3:42 later, and then Mattias Samuelsson tallied the go-ahead goal 56 seconds after that. Hampus Lindholm couldn’t clear the puck in the buildup to Samuelsson’s goal.

Turnovers, lost puck battles — it all added up to an avalanche of Sabres goals. Buffalo had 24 shots, 24 scoring chances and nine high-danger chances over the final two periods.

SAMUELSSON, BUFFALO TAKES THE LEAD 🚨
THIS IS PLAYOFF HOCKEY 🤯 pic.twitter.com/sHWYHDKlN8
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) April 20, 2026

The Bruins generated just seven shots and four scoring chances in the third period. A two-goal lead is not safe against a relentless group of Sabres forwards.

Getting a third goal would have been pivotal. Sabres fans were actually booing their team halfway through the third period. But the B’s could barely get possession of the puck in the final 20 minutes of regulation.

2. Sabres were the more physical team

Bruins head coach Marco Sturm made some interesting comments earlier this week when he said the B’s were the “bigger,” “stronger,” and “more physical team.” Did the Sabres try to prove Sturm wrong with the way they played in Game 1? It looked like it.

HEADS UP 💥💥💥 pic.twitter.com/bVJ9XUgW1f
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 20, 2026

The Sabres outhit the B’s 53-38, and a lot of those hits were the result of the ferocious forecheck mentioned in the section above.

Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff made a point postgame to mention his team won the physical battle.

“We made them pay for those couple of mistakes down low,” Ruff told reporters. “They weren’t getting beat early. I think maybe some of our physicality wore them down.”

The Sabres got a huge boost from a raucous crowd that was watching their team play in the playoffs for the first time in 15 years. That boost of energy allowed the Sabres to set the tone physically from the start. The Bruins have to reverse that early in Game 2.

3. Jeremy Swayman was the Bruins’ best player

Swayman was under constant pressure all night and stopped the first 32 shots he faced. He made seven saves on one Sabres power play in the second period and made eight saves on nine high-danger chances overall. He ended up with 34 saves on 37 shots (.919 save percentage).

The Bruins did him no favors in the third period with a bunch of defensive mistakes. The only goal that Swayman was mostly at fault for was Thompson’s second tally. Swayman’s left pad came up off the ice and the puck slid under it.

If Swayman continues to play like he did in Game 1, the Bruins will have a good chance to win this series.

4. Bruins need more scoring depth

In our series preview, we noted that the Bruins will win the series if the second, third and fourth lines generate enough offense. It’s very hard to beat the Sabres with just your first line. The B’s came close in Game 1, though. The top line of Morgan Geekie, Elias Lindholm and David Pastrnak was excellent offensively.

Geekie got the B’s on the board in the first period. Lindholm buried a rebound to double Boston’s lead early in the third period. Pastrnak assisted on both of those goals, and then he scored a late power-play tally in the third period. Pastrnak also had two breakaways he didn’t score on, and Geekie passed the puck with a wide open net during a late first period power play.

ELIAS DOUBLES THE LEAD ‼️ pic.twitter.com/NRLqoPBGDl
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) April 20, 2026

No other line for the B’s did much offensively.

The second line of Viktor Arvidsson, Casey Mittelstadt and Pavel Zacha was one of the league’s top trios post-Olympic break. But this line was on the ice for two goals against in Game 1, and the Sabres had a 13-8 edge in shot attempts during this trio’s 9:09 of 5-on-5 ice time. The Arvidsson-Mittelstadt-Zacha line had an expected goals scored of 0.27 at 5-on-5, per MoneyPuck, with four shots overall. The Bruins need much more from them in Game 2.

The “Kid Line” of rookie James Hagens, Fraser Minten and Marat Khusnutdinov played OK. They had a few good offensive shifts and played with speed. They had a minus-2 shot attempt differential at 5-on-5, which wasn’t horrible by any means given how dominant the Sabres were in the final two periods.

Despite not getting much from the second, third and fourth lines, there’s no pressing need to make huge changes to this group entering Game 2. The Bruins just need to play with more pace and not sit back as much with the lead. And, honestly, there’s no player who didn’t play in Game 1 who would make a substantial impact Tuesday night. Alex Steeves and Mikey Eyssimont are not going to turn the tide for the B’s.

A more balanced scoring output and Hagens getting some power play time in Game 2 would be a step in the right direction.

5. Henri Jokiharju should replace Andrew Peeke on blue line

It was a rough night for Andrew Peeke.

The veteran defenseman did not have a great game and struggled against the Sabres forecheck. Jokiharju is a better puck-mover than Peeke and he is a little more reliable getting the puck out of the defensive zone.

Swapping him in for Peeke is one minor change Sturm could potentially make for Game 2.

Henri Jokiharju

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