Bruins visit Sabres in battle of NHL also-rans

The Boston Bruins have ended a lengthy skid and are back on the road.

A night after convincingly breaking their 10-game losing streak (0-9-1) with a 5-1 win over the Carolina Hurricanes, the Bruins have an opportunity to pass Atlantic Division rival Buffalo in the standings when they visit the Sabres on Sunday evening.

Though Boston (31-37-9, 71 points) has been eliminated from playoff contention for the first time since 2016, interim coach Joe Sacco said he hopes the feel-good night can lead to a strong final five games of the regular season.

“With the stretch that we’ve been on here lately, it’s nice to have the guys feel good about themselves again,” Sacco said. “There’s a lot of positive things that we can talk about, obviously, when you win a hockey game. I think it’s important for everybody.”

It all started, though, with David Pastrnak, who netted his second hat trick of the season and tied a career high with five points against the Hurricanes.

The star winger combined with linemates Morgan Geekie and Elias Lindholm to score all of the Bruins’ goals, breaking the team’s 11-game streak of not scoring more than three times.

Pastrnak reached the 40-goal mark for the fifth time in his career and also is the fifth-ever Bruin to record 90 points in three straight seasons.

“He’s a leader, one of those guys that brings positivity and work ethic every day and knows that it’s going to come through,” Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swayman said. “That’s something we can all build off and will.”

Pastrnak had scored just four goals during the skid.

“It’s obviously been a tough couple weeks, so I’m proud of the group, the effort, the blocked shots and the commitment to win (Saturday) was there,” he said.

The win was Swayman’s 100th in the NHL and snapped a personal seven-game skid.

Sunday’s game will pit 40-goal stars against one another in Pastrnak and Buffalo’s Tage Thompson, who also reached the feat Saturday in the Sabres’ 3-2 shootout win over the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Thompson is the first Sabre to post multiple 40-goal campaigns since Thomas Vanek (2006-07 and 2008-09).

“I think individual success is a byproduct of how you play as a group,” Thompson said. “I’ve been fortunate enough to play with a lot of skilled players that have made my life a lot easier and help me get to that plateau.”

Jason Zucker also scored in regulation while Jack Quinn and Alex Tuch tallied shootout goals to lift the Sabres to another victory against a playoff-contending team despite the continued absences of forwards Josh Norris (undisclosed injury) and Jordan Greenway (lower-body).

Buffalo (33-36-6, 72 points) enters Sunday just one point ahead of its opponent in the divisional and conference picture, but that is because of a three-game win streak and 7-3-0 run over their last 10 games.

The standings may not show it, but Sabres coach Lindy Ruff sees a team that still has goals to accomplish.

“We have work to do as a team, establishing the way we need to play, the way we need to manage the puck night in, night out, shift after shift,” Ruff said. “To become a better team, you’ve got to take every period, every game … and use it as a stepping stone. I think you ought to give them a lot of credit right now for digging in.”

The players see the work paying off.

“I think we’re starting to buy into the right things and do the right things consistently, and when you do that, you give yourself a chance to have success,” Zucker said. “Early in the year, it felt like we would do it for a game or two, and then we would take a night or two or three off.”

–Field Level Media