The Buffalo Sabres lost 4-3 in overtime to the Boston Bruins on March 26 at KeyBank Center, with Pavel Zacha scoring the game-winner just 38 seconds into the extra period.
The loss comes as the Sabres continue their push for a playoff spot, making every point crucial as they near the end of the regular season. Despite mounting another third-period comeback to force overtime and secure a point in the standings, players and coaches expressed disappointment with their overall performance.
Coach Lindy Ruff said, “Those first two periods were probably our poorest periods of the last three months. … You’re playing a team that’s battling as hard as it can to stay in the playoff picture. They won more battles.” Captain Rasmus Dahlin added, “I think this was a learning game for us, for sure. Tomorrow, we have to really go through what happened. We can’t play this way for two periods.”
Goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen kept Buffalo close by making 21 saves through two periods and finishing with 27 stops overall. Zach Benson tied the game early in the third period after forcing a turnover and scoring on a breakaway during a Bruins power play. Benson said about his effort, “Obviously, never love getting cross checked from behind, but that’s sometimes the price you’ve got to pay… And I’d definitely do it again.” Jason Zucker then gave Buffalo its first lead just over half a minute later on another power-play goal assisted by Tage Thompson.
Boston tied it late in regulation before Zacha’s overtime winner sealed Buffalo’s second consecutive loss—something that has only happened three times since December. The Sabres remain optimistic about finishing strong ahead of their final ten games before playoffs begin. “We’re losing no confidence in this room,” Benson said. “We’re a confident team up one, down one, tied… Unfortunately it’s happened back to back games, but it hasn’t happened much this year, and we’ll definitely fix that.”
In other news from Wednesday’s game, Dahlin’s fiancée Carolina returned to Buffalo after recovering from an emergency heart transplant last summer and received support from fans at KeyBank Center. The Sabres will next face Detroit Red Wings at home on Friday.
