Mar 1, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Boston Bruins right wing David Pastrnak (88) celebrates with the Bruins bench after scoring a goal against the Pittsburgh Penguins during the first period at PPG Paints Arena. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
Puck Drop: 6:00 PM ET | KeyBank Center | Buffalo, NY
TV: MSG-B
Radio: WGR 550
Record: 31-37-9 | 71 PTS
Division Ranking: 7th in the Atlantic
Last Game: 5-1 win over Carolina
PP: 15.1% (29th) – (Sabres 18.5%, 25th) *
PK: 76.6% (23rd) – (Sabres 76.7%, 22nd) *
The Bruins snapped a 10-game losing streak on Saturday night with a decisive 5-1 win over the Carolina Hurricanes. That 10-game skid, which lasted from March 13 through April 3, sent the Bruins to the bottom of the Atlantic Division. They were outscored 46-14 in that stretch.
That said, Boston snapped that streak with a big win on Saturday night, powered by a hat trick from David Pastrnak. Pastrnak now has 40 goals on the season (hey, so does Tage Thompson!). Morgan Geekie and Elias Lindholm also scored, while Jeremy Swayman made 39 saves. As of writing, the Bruins are still at the bottom of the Atlantic and are tied for last place in the Eastern Conference with Philadelphia. They’ve officially been eliminated from playoff contention.
Just as the Bruins are on the second half of a back-to-back weekend, so too are the Sabres. Buffalo beat Tampa 3-2 in a shootout on Saturday night. Tonight’s game, one of four remaining at KeyBank Center, is a critical one as the team’s playoff odds dwindle. Despite the fact that the Sabres have won three straight and six of their last seven games, the teams ahead of them in key spots also keep winning.
Per Chad DeDominics, a Sabres regulation loss tonight, combined with a Montreal win over Nashville (7 pm), would spell elimination.
James Reimer has been on fire lately, but this is the second half of a back-to-back. Will we see Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen get a crack in goal this evening, or will Lindy Ruff elect to use Reimer again?
Realistically, at this point, Reimer is giving this team its best chance to win. Luukkonen has struggled, but at the same time, you can’t give up on him and ride Reimer the rest of the way. That’s just not likely.
No morning skate today, but Lindy Ruff is expected to give updates around 4 p.m. Of course, he probably won’t reveal his starter anyways.
Buffalo Sabres
Forwards
Zach Benson – Jiri Kulich – Tage ThompsonJJ Peterka – Ryan McLeod – Jack QuinnJason Zucker – Peyton Krebs – Alex Tuch
Beck Malenstyn – Noah Ostlund – Sam Lafferty
Defense
Mattias Samuelsson – Rasmus DahinOwen Power – Jacob Bernard-Docker
Bowen Byram – Connor Clifton
Goaltenders
James Reimer, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen
Boston Bruins
Forwards
Morgan Geekie – Elias Lindholm – David PastrnakPavel Zacha – Casey Mittelstadt – Fabian LysellMarat Khusnutdinov – Fraser Minten – Vinni Lettieri
Jakub Lauko – John Beecher – Cole Koepke
Defense
Nikita Zadorov – Henri JokiharjuParker Wotherspoon – Andrew Peeke
Mason Lohrei – Ian Mitchell
Goaltenders
Jeremy Swayman, Joonas Korpisalo
