Boston 4, Buffalo 3
When: 7:00 PM ET, Sunday, December 21, 2014
Where: TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Referees:
Frederic L'Ecuyer, Dave Jackson
Linesmen:
Matt MacPherson, Scott Cherrey
Attendance:
17565
By SportsDirect Inc.
Bruins 4, Sabres 3 (OT): Defenseman Dougie Hamilton tied the game late in the third period with his second goal of the night and Loui Eriksson tallied 2:14 into overtime as host Boston remained perfect against Buffalo this season.
After Hamilton earned one point for the Bruins, Eriksson secured the other by beating Jhonas Enroth from in close on a partial breakaway. Hamilton and Eriksson each added an assist, Chris Kelly also scored and Tuukka Rask made 25 saves as Boston improved to 3-0-0 against its Atlantic Division rival.
Rookie Tim Schaller and defensemen Andrej Meszaros and Rasmus Ristolainen tallied for the Sabres, who have lost three straight (0-2-1) following a four-game winning streak. Enroth turned aside 33 shots.
Boston grabbed the lead during a power play less than six minutes into the contest as Hamilton received a feed from the right side of the crease by Carl Soderberg and beat Enroth from alone in the left faceoff circle. Meszaros answered at 6:06 of the second period, streaking down the slot to redirect a lead pass from Chris Stewart past Rask, and Ristolainen put Buffalo ahead with 5:24 left in the session as his shanked one-timer from the right circle caromed off Bruins defenseman Torey Krug and in for a man-advantage tally.
The lead lasted exactly one minute as Kelly deflected captain Zdeno Chara's wrist shot from the blue line past Enroth for his first goal in 23 games. Schaller put the Sabres back in front 87 seconds into the third with a wraparound for his first career tally, but Hamilton beat Enroth high to the glove side from the right circle with 1:31 remaining to force overtime.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Hamilton's two-goal performance was the first of his career. ... Two of Boston's three victories over Buffalo this campaign have come in overtime. ... The Bruins converted their only power-play opportunity after going 1-for-29 over their previous 15 games.
Top Game Performances
Buffalo |
|
Boston |
Andrej Meszaros 1 |
Points |
Dougie Hamilton 3 |
Andrej Meszaros 1 |
Goals |
Dougie Hamilton 2 |
Nicolas Deslauriers 1 |
Assists |
Zdeno Chara 2 |
Rasmus Ristolainen 1 |
Power Play Goals |
Dougie Hamilton 1 |
N/A |
Short Handed Goals |
N/A |
Jhonas Enroth .892 |
Save Percentage |
Tuukka Rask .893 |
Jhonas Enroth 33 |
Saves |
Tuukka Rask 25 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
Buffalo
|
28 |
3 |
1-2 |
0-1 |
19 |
24 |
Boston
|
37 |
4 |
1-1 |
1-2 |
22 |
35 |
Upcoming Games
-
Boston will play their next game at home against Nashville. The Bruins have a W/L % of .438 after a win and .556 after a loss.
-
Buffalo will play their next game on the road against Detroit. The Sabres have a W/L % of .538 after a win and .286 after a loss.