Sabres' late comeback
- The Buffalo Sabres scored four late third-period goals to stun the Boston Bruins in Game 1. (nhl.com) - Tage Thompson scored twice during the rally in Buffalo’s first playoff appearance since 2011. (nhl.com) - The upset immediately raises pressure on Boston heading into Game 2, per the NHL recap. (nhl.com)
Buffalo erased a 2-0 third-period deficit with four goals in the final eight minutes Sunday night, beating Boston 4-3 in Game 1 at KeyBank Center. (nhl.com) Tage Thompson scored twice 3:42 apart to start the push, Mattias Samuelson put Buffalo ahead with 3:24 left, and Alex Tuch added an empty-net goal with 1:12 remaining. (espn.com) Boston led 1-0 after David Pastrnak scored in the first period and went up 2-0 early in the third before the collapse; Pastrnak finished with three points in the loss. (nhl.com) (youtube.com) The game was Buffalo’s first playoff appearance since 2011, and its first playoff win since a 1-0 victory over Philadelphia on April 20, 2011. (nhl.com) (clickondetroit.com) That drought framed the night in Buffalo: the Sabres won the Atlantic Division with 109 points this season, but opened the postseason against a Bruins team that went 3-1-0 against them in the regular season. (insidetherink.com) (boston25news.com) The comeback was rare even by playoff standards. ESPN said Buffalo became just the second team to overcome a multigoal deficit in the final eight minutes and still win in regulation in a postseason game. (espn.com) For Boston, the loss flips the pressure onto Game 2 after the Bruins carried a road lead into the final stretch and left Buffalo down 1-0 in the series. Game 2 is scheduled for Tuesday, April 21, in Buffalo. (foxsports.com) (boston25news.com) Buffalo spent 52 minutes without a goal and still walked off with a one-game lead, turning its first playoff night in 15 years into the loudest result the building has seen in a generation. (nhl.com)
