Sabres snap drought
- The Buffalo Sabres recorded their first NHL playoff win since 2011, scoring four third‑period goals to beat Boston. (espn.com) - The key detail: a four‑goal third period turned the game and produced Buffalo’s landmark postseason victory. (espn.com) - The win stands out as an early emotional storyline as the 2026 Stanley Cup playoffs move fully into first‑round play. (espn.com)
Buffalo ended a 15-year wait for a playoff win Sunday night, rallying past Boston 4-3 with four third-period goals at KeyBank Center. (nhl.com) The Sabres trailed 2-0 after Elias Lindholm scored 1:08 into the third period for Boston. Tage Thompson started the comeback at 12:02, tied it at 15:44, Mattias Samuelsson put Buffalo ahead at 16:36, and Alex Tuch added an empty-net goal at 18:48. (nhl.com) David Pastrnak scored for Boston with eight seconds left on a power play, but Buffalo held on for a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven first-round series. Thompson finished with two goals and an assist, and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 17 saves while Jeremy Swayman stopped 34 shots for the Bruins. (nhl.com) Buffalo had not played a postseason game since April 26, 2011, and had not won one since April 22, 2011. The National Hockey League said the victory came nearly 15 years to the day after that last playoff win. (nhl.com 1) (nhl.com 2) The late swing put the game in league history, not just team history. The NHL said Buffalo recorded the second-latest multi-goal comeback win in regulation in Stanley Cup playoff history, while ESPN reported the Sabres became only the second team to erase a multigoal deficit in the final eight minutes and still win in regulation. (nhl.com) (espn.com) The win also reset the mood around a franchise that spent eight straight seasons outside the playoffs before returning this spring. Thompson told ESPN that “eight years of adversity” helped prepare Buffalo for the moment, and captain Rasmus Dahlin pointed to Thompson’s role in dragging the team back into the game. (espn.com) Boston left Buffalo saying the series had shifted, but not ended. Morgan Geekie said after the loss that “it’s a long series,” and Game 2 is scheduled for Tuesday night in Buffalo before the matchup moves on. (nhl.com)
