Sabres' wild comeback
- Buffalo rallied from a three-goal third-period deficit to beat Boston in Game 1 of their first-round series. - It was the first time any NHL team won in regulation after trailing by three goals in the third period. - The result is being called one of the wildest playoff openers and reshapes that bracket matchup heading forward. ( )
Buffalo erased a three-goal third-period deficit and beat Boston 4-3 in regulation in Game 1 on April 19, opening its first playoff series in 15 years with a result the National Hockey League had never seen before. (nhl.com, espn.com) Boston led 3-0 early in the third period after goals from Morgan Geekie in the first, Elias Lindholm at 1:08 of the third, and David Pastrnak at 12:04. Buffalo then scored four times in 8:32, with Tage Thompson starting the push at 12:36 and Mattias Samuelsson scoring the winner at 16:36. (espn.com, nhl.com) The sharpest turn came late: Buffalo scored three goals in a 4:34 span, and Thompson finished with two goals in his first playoff game since joining the Sabres. Jeremy Swayman made 34 saves for Boston, but Buffalo still finished with a 38-20 edge in shots. (nhl.com, nhl.com) The history point is narrow and specific: teams had come back from three down in the third period to win playoff games before, but not in regulation. ESPN reported Buffalo became the first National Hockey League team to do it without needing overtime. (espn.com) That changed the tone of a matchup that had looked tilted toward Boston’s experience. Buffalo entered the postseason after a 50-23-9 regular season and its first playoff berth since the 2010-11 season, while Boston arrived at 45-27-10 and gave up home-ice position in the series. (espn.com, wkbw.com) Buffalo’s control showed up beyond the scoreboard. National Hockey League EDGE tracking said the Sabres held a 42:37 to 17:23 advantage in offensive-zone “time with tilt,” a puck-possession measure that tracks sustained attacking pressure. (nhl.com) Boston coach Marco Sturm said after the loss, “We were exactly where we wanted to play” with the late lead, while the Bruins’ team site called it a lesson learned “the hard way.” Buffalo’s room framed it differently, with players and coaches pointing to the crowd at KeyBank Center and the push from the final eight minutes. (nhl.com, nhl.com) For Buffalo, the comeback landed on the same calendar week the franchise was trying to end a playoff absence that had stretched back to April 2011. Game 1 did that in one night, and it sent the series to Game 2 with the Bruins chasing instead of protecting an opening edge. (wkbw.com, espn.com)
