Fresh off exchanging Anders Bjork and a 2021 second-round draft pick for Taylor Hall and Curtis Lazar, the Bruins immediately welcomed their trade partner, the Buffalo Sabres, to TD Garden.
It was a physical affair and a closely contested game with the Sabres as their effort let it be known they won’t be rolling over for Boston down the stretch.
The teams went back and forth on the scoreboard and then back and forth in overtime before the Bruins eventually won 3-2 in a shootout thanks to two saves from Jeremy Swayman and two goals from Charlie Coyle and Jake DeBrusk.
Here are three key takeaways from the game.
1. First impressions
Taylor Hall, Curtis Lazar and Mike Reilly each made their Bruins debut, and while it was only one game, they played as advertised.
Taylor Hall — Playing alongside David Krejci and Craig Smith, Hall showed off his ability to transition with speed through the neutral zone to create scoring chances off the rush. On multiple occasions, Hall backed off defenders while entering the offensive zone, and then pulled up to find a trailing teammate for a shot on goal.
Just over five minutes into the second period, Charlie McAvoy created a Buffalo turnover, leading to Hall transitioning from defense to offense streaking down the right wing boards — Hall backhanded a rather soft, pinball pass back to Smith, who netted his ninth goal of the year for a 2-1 lead. While Smith’s tally was ruled unassisted after Hall’s pass deflected off a few Sabres, he played a major role in the scoring sequence.
Hall seemed tentative in the early stages of the game and had one bad defensive zone turnover. He then settled in and started making plays as the game went on, including some great chances in overtime.
Curtis Lazar — Meanwhile, a couple of forward lines down the depth chart, Lazar’s presence was noticeable on a re-energized fourth line.
Lazar, Sean Kuraly and Chris Wagner brought their skating game early and often, playing often in the offensive zone throughout the first two periods. Relentless forechecking and net-front presence was encouraging to see from the new trio and was exactly the “hard to play against” identity the team is looking for from their fourth line.
Though they were on the ice for Buffalo’s game-tying goal in the third period, they were still trusted with two shifts in the final minutes of the game. Trent Frederic will be sure to get a look on the line when he returns, but in their audition together, Lazar, Kuraly and Wagner showed themselves well.
Mike Reilly — On the blue line, Reilly was noticeable from the opening faceoff. His north, south and lateral skating ability was apparent, as were his offensive instincts.
In his 22:17 minutes of ice time, Reilly was credited with two hits, one blocked shot and tied for the team lead with five shots on goal.
Beyond the stat line, the eye test shows that Reilly will really help the Bruins' transition game with his glaring mobility and puck-moving ability. Reilly’s debut on the Boston blue line was rather seamless and he will certainly be a welcomed addition among their top-four defensemen.
2. New-look second line provides offensive punch
Bruce Cassidy is likely to tinker with his forward combinations over the next few weeks to find what works best, but on this night the trio of David Krejci, Craig Smith and Taylor Hall was able to find success in their inaugural game together.
With the Bruins down 1-0 in the first period, Smith picked up a loose puck in the corner before passing it to Jeremy Lauzon at the point — Lauzon’s point shot was blocked in front but picked up by Krejci in front of the net to tie the game.
Hall didn’t factor in on Krejci’s goal as Nick Ritchie had yet to change off, but he did factor in on Smith’s go-ahead goal in the second period.
As previously noted, Hall skated down the right wing boards with speed and his efforts led to a scoring chance for Smith in the slot that made it 2-1 Boston — Smith’s ninth goal of the year and the 15th point in his last 13 games.
While in a perfect scenario, Smith would be a perfect fit on the third line with Charlie Coyle, there’s no denying that he seems to have more chemistry with David Krejci and Patrice Bergeron as his center — this is evident by Smith’s scoring rate over the last two-plus weeks.
Smith’s success in the top-six is also important with David Pastrnak struggling of late because it gives Cassidy different options to get the Bruins' best goal-scorer going.
3. Defense finally getting shots through
All season long, the Bruins' defense has had an incredibly difficult time getting shots through to the net — which has often led to offensive transition from opponents, killing any Boston momentum.
Tuesday against the Sabres, Boston was able to rectify this issue at least for one game, as 15 of Boston’s 34 shots on goal were from the point.
The reason the Bruins found success against Buffalo was because there was a concise effort to execute lateral movement along the blue line and they were able to adjust their shooting angles when necessary.
Mike Reilly and Jarred Tinordi each led the team with five shots on goal, Charlie McAvoy and Kevan Miller were looking to make plays all night in the offensive zone, and David Krejci’s rebound goal was also off a point shot from Jeremy Lauzon.
Hopefully the defense can learn from their success going forward.