Boston, Mass. (WGR 550) - It was a victorious end to the 2022 calendar year for the Buffalo Sabres in Boston, Massachusetts on Saturday afternoon.
Down 3-2 late in the third period, a Dylan Cozens goal tied the contest to force overtime at TD Garden. Then with about one minute remaining in overtime, Alex Tuch scored his second goal of the afternoon to give the Sabres a 4-3 win over the Bruins, as well as a sixth-straight victory.
Boston opened the scoring in this game at the 13:09 mark of the period, as David Pastrnak found himself alone in his sweet spot of the ice on the off wing. He fired a one-time shot past an unsuspecting Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen in net for Buffalo to give the Bruins a 1-0 lead.
A little more than three minutes later, the Tage Thompson show made its latest stop, as the lumbering Sabres center managed to patiently drag a puck past Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman to tie the hockey game at 1-1. The goal as Thompson's 27th of the year.
It was an evenly-matched period from both teams in the shot department with the Sabres outshooting the Bruins, 10-9 through 20 minutes.
It didn't take Tuch long in the second period to put the Sabres up by a 2-1 score on a breakaway chance on Swayman. After a nice lead pass from defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin sprung Tuch for a scoring chance, Tuch wired his shot past the blocker of the Bruins netminder for his 16th goal of the season.
Later the the period, forward Peyton Krebs got in on the action with a nice check of former Sabres winger Taylor Hall in front of the Buffalo bench. After the hit, Bruins defenseman Connor Clifton challenged Krebs to a fight, and the two players willingly dropped the gloves for a brief tilt.
Although the Sabres finished the second period with the lead, the Bruins were able to outshoot Buffalo by an 11-6 margin.
The Bruins really turned up the heat in the third period, and eventually tied the game with a power play tally.
With Sabres captain Kyle Okposo in the box serving a boarding penalty, Bruins captain Patrice Bergeron was able to bury the game-tying goal after a flurry of chances in front of the Buffalo net.
A little more than seven minutes later, the Bruins grabbed back the lead with a Brad Marchand goal, as he got loose with a breakaway and slid the puck through the five-hole of Luukkonen.
After killing off a nearly full two minutes of a 5-on-3 power play for the Bruins, the Sabres were granted some life as they looked to tie the game at 3-3 late.
After defenseman Rasmus Dahlin saved a goal with Luukkonen pulled for the extra attacker, he fired the puck down the ice on a set play for Tuch streaking into the zone. He then touched the puck back to Cozens, who quickly fired a shot that snuck through Swayman to tie the game. Cozens' 12th goal of the season came with 1:37 remaining in regulation.
Boston had one more chance in regulation with a faceoff in the offensive zone, but a shot towards the net with 1.6 seconds remaining was blocked, officially signaling the need for overtime.
After a couple of back-and-forth rushes for both teams, Tuch was finally able to end the game with just 1:07 remaining on the clock in overtime. It was Cozens who started the rush into the Bruins end, drawing two defenders along with him. That left Tuch all by himself to take a drop pass, and he fired a shot that fluttered past Swayman for the game-winning goal.
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GAME RECAP
Scoring Summary:
First Period:
BUF: 16:13 - Tage Thompson (27) (Jeff Skinner, Alex Tuch)
BOS: 13:09 - David Pastrnak (25) (David Kerjci, Pavel Zacha)
Second Period:
BUF: 2:03 - Alex Tuch (16) (Ilya Lyubushkin)
BOS: NONE
Third Period:
BUF: 18:23 - Dylan Cozens (12) (Alex Tuch, Rasmus Dahlin)
BOS: 5:16 - Patrice Bergeron (15) PPG (Brad Marchand, Jake DeBrusk); 12:25 - Brad Marchand (10) (David Pastrnak, Charlie McAvoy)
Overtime:
BUF: 3:53 - Alex Tuch (17) (Dylan Cozens)
BOS: NONE
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Penalty Summary:
First Period:
BUF: 1:43 - Rasmus Dahlin (Cross-checking - 2 min.); 13:40 - Kale Clague (Boarding - 2 min.)
BOS: 0:39 - TEAM (Too many men on the ice - 2 min.); 1:43 - Trent Frederic (Goalie interference - 2 min.)
Second Period:
BUF: 7:51 - Peyton Krebs (Fighting - 5 min.)
BOS: 7:51 - Connor Clifton (Fighting - 5 min.); 12:22 - Craig Smith (High sticking - 2 min.)
Third Period:
BUF: 4:48 - Kyle Okposo (Boarding - 2 min.); 13:24 - JJ Peterka (High sticking - 4 min.); 13:28 - Ilya Lyubushkin (High sticking - 2 min.)
BOS: 1:56 - Hampus Lindholm (Holding - 2 min,)
Overtime:
BUF: NONE
BOS: NONE
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Losi and Gangi Three Stars of the Game:
1.) Alex Tuch - BUF
2.) Brad Marchand - BOS
3.) Patrice Bergeron - BOS
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What's next:
The Sabres continue their three-game road trip on Sunday when they travel to Ottawa to take on the Senators at the Canadian Tire Centre. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. EST on the flagship home of the Sabres Radio Network - WGR Sports Radio 550. Pregame coverage with Brian Koziol begins at 6 p.m. EST.
