If nothing else, these Bruins are resilient

Count out these Bruins at your own peril.

After a bad home loss against the lowly Maple Leafs on Tuesday, surely the Bruins were in trouble as they flew to Buffalo to face the hottest team in the NHL on the second night of a back-to-back.

And when they watched a 2-1 lead turn into a 3-2 deficit in a matter of 33 seconds during the third period Wednesday, it certainly looked like they were.

But as they have so many times this season, these Bruins pulled themselves up off the mat and got back in the fight. They came from behind to tie it, and went on to beat the Sabres 4-3 in overtime to get a massive two points.

Unsurprisingly, it was the Bruins' second line – their best and most consistent line all season – that saved the day with the big tying goal with six minutes left in regulation.

Viktor Arvidsson took a hit to move the puck into the offensive zone. Casey Mittelstadt won a battle on the wall. Pavel Zacha swooped in to get the puck and pass it back to defenseman Jonathan Aspirot for a one-timer. That shot missed the net, but took a fortuitous bounce back to the front, where Mittelstadt was waiting to deposit it into the open net.

It was Zacha who played the overtime hero as well, taking a pass from David Pastrnak and snapping it past Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen 38 seconds into the 3-on-3 extra session.

Pastrnak finished with a three-point night as he extended his point streak to 11 games. He scored the game's first goal off a nice pass from Fraser Minten, which followed a good forecheck from Marat Khusnutdinov. He also assisted on Boston's second goal, as he took the puck to the net and generated a rebound for Arvidsson to poke in.

"Proud of the game," Pastrnak said postgame. "The way we answered after yesterday, and played a heck of a team today that's been rolling pretty good. … Just credit to our group the way we stick with it and get the tying goal. No matter how long it takes, we stick with it. Huge two points for us."

In addition to the sheer resiliency to fight back, the best part of the Bruins' game Wednesday was their 5-on-5 play. They outshot the Sabres 30-18 at 5-on-5 and outscored them 3-1. Especially since it was a back-to-back for Boston, that is obviously an encouraging sign against the team with the third-best 5-on-5 goal differential in the NHL this season.

The worst part was special teams, which nearly cost the Bruins the game. The Sabres' power play went 2-for-3, while the Bruins' power play was 0-for-2 and didn't land a single shot on goal. The Sabres also scored a goal two seconds after a Bruins power play ended – technically a 5-on-5 goal, but really a shorthanded goal for all intents and purposes.

The most disastrous sequence came early in the third period. Just as another stagnant, ineffective Boston power play came to an end, Mason Lohrei lost a puck battle in the neutral zone and handed Zach Benson a breakaway goal to tie the game 2-2.

To make matters worse, Lohrei crosschecked Benson after the goal out of frustration, putting the Sabres on the power play. They made the Bruins pay, with Jason Zucker scoring 33 seconds later to give Buffalo a 3-2 lead.

The Bruins' power play is now just 7-for-50 (14%) in 15 games since the Olympic break, as it continues to be a major weakness after being such a strength prior to the break. The Bruins' penalty kill, previously a weakness, had been better coming out of the break, but that has now started to slip as well. Opposing power plays are now 6-for-15 (40%) over the last four games.

Special teams are unquestionably something the Bruins need to clean up as quickly as possible. Not doing so poses a very real threat to their playoff chances.

But in the meantime, their ability to overcome adversity is keeping them on the right side of the cut line. After Wednesday's big win, they now have 88 points in 72 games, good for the first wild card spot. They're three points ahead of the Ottawa Senators (71 games played) and New York Islanders (72), and four ahead of the Detroit Red Wings (71).

They also have more points than the second- and third-place teams in the Metropolitan Division – the Columbus Blue Jackets (87 points in 71 games) and Pittsburgh Penguins (86 in 71) – which matters because it means the Islanders could pick off one of them instead of the Bruins.

The Bruins' tough schedule continues with another back-to-back this weekend, as they host the Minnesota Wild on Saturday before traveling to Columbus on Sunday.