The Buffalo Sabres lost their first game of the 2021-22 regular season thanks to the Boston Bruins. The blue and gold were defeated 4-1 on Friday night at KeyBank Center.
David Pastrnak gave Boston an early 1-0 lead with his first goal of the season. Brad Marchand made a hit in the Sabres' end that freed up the puck, and then fed Pastrnak less than for minutes into the game for the one-goal advantage.
Boston's lead doubled thanks to more good passing in front of the net. Tomas Nosek made it to the front of the net and received a pass from Charlie Coyle at the top of the blue paint for a tap-in tally. Coyle and Taylor Hall assisted on the goal that made it 2-0 Bruins.
The Sabres outshot Boston 15-7 in the opening period, thanks to a pair of power play chances. Buffalo was unable to score on either odd-man advantage. Ex-Sabres goalie Linus Ullmark stopped all 15 Sabres shots on goal in the first.
Boston's first power play chance of the night led to their third goal of the game. Coyle recorded his second point of the game, this time a goal, with Rasmus Dahlin in the penalty box for hooking. Marchand made the play across the ice for the primary assist, while Mike Reilly was credited with the secondary assist for the 3-0 lead.
With the Bruins' power play goal, the Sabres' penalty kill unit gave up its first goal-against of the season in the team's fourth game of the season.
Victor Olofsson's second goal of the season trimmed the Sabres' deficit to 3-1 late in the third period. Rasmus Asplund made the pass just inside of the offensive zone to set up the score. Asplund and Colin Miller were given the assists on the goal.
Hall was called for a tripping minutes just minutes later, but wound up extending the Bruins lead back to three, 4-1, after the penalty expired. The forward came out of the penalty box just as the puck was cleared down the ice, and with an empty net, Hall shoveled the puck into the goal.
----------
GAME SUMMARY:
Goal Summary:
First Period:
BUF: NONE
BOS: 3:49 - David Pastrnak (1) (Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron); 15:50 - Tomas Nosek (1) (Charlie Coyle, Taylor Hall)
Second Period:
BUF: NONE
BOS: 5:17 - Charlie Coyle (1) PPG (Brad Marchand, Mike Reilly)
Third Period:
BUF: 14:35 - Victor Olofsson (2) (Rasmus Asplund, Colin Miller)
BOS: 18:12 - Taylor Hall (2) ENG (Charlie Coyle)
----------
Penalty Summary:
First Period:
BUF: NONE
BOS: 16:19 - Erik Haula (Slashing - 2 min.); 18:34 - John Moore (High sticking - 2 min.)
Second Period:
BUF: 3:42 - Rasmus Dahlin (Hooking - 2 min.)
BOS: NONE
Third Period:
BUF: 7:00 - Drake Caggiula (Hooking - 2 min.)
BOS: 16:02 - Taylor Hall (Tripping - 2 min.)
----------
----------
Losi and Gangi Three Stars of the Game:
1.) Brad Marchand - BOS
2.) David Pastrnak - BOS
3.) Linus Ullmark - BOS
----------
What's Next:
The blue and gold will complete their first set of back-to-back games with a 7 p.m. ET faceoff against the New Jersey Devils at the Prudential Center in Newark. Catch all of the action on the flagship home of the Sabres Radio Network - WGR Sports Radio 550, starting with pregame coverage at 6 p.m. ET with Brian Koziol.
