Two in the Box

David Pastrnak was held off the scoresheet for the last two games. He found his way back to it on Tuesday night in the most meaningful way possible. Pastrnak got behind Mattias Samuelsson in overtime as the Bruins disrupted Buffalo’s zone entry and after being stymied on his first two breakaway attempts in the series, Pastrnak made no mistake this time, sending the series back to Boston for game six. 

The entry that was broken up looked dangerous too. Ryan McLeod was streaking open high in the Boston slot. Had Krebs gotten his pass through, we might be having a much different conversation. Krebs not getting that pass through was something of a theme for the Sabres tonight. It seemed that there were too many occasions with errant or intercepted passes where the Sabres simply weren’t as crisp as they were on Sunday. Credit is due to the Bruins here as well. Boston was far more assertive in game five and they consistently eliminated Buffalo’s time and space. That showed up in several places, including the shot clock, where the Sabres only managed 21 shots on goal in regulation. 

They were still just one shot away in overtime. Buffalo had started to press the issue in the extra period as well. The Bruins were content to weather the storm and catch the Sabres on a counter, and it played out perfectly. However, there were a few opportunities for the Sabres to end it as well. Perhaps none bigger than the look Alex Tuch got in the slot off an effective cycle. Much like the intercepted pass to McLeod, a few more inches of elevation from Tuch and the Sabres would be scheduling games for round two. 

For me, the story of this game was how Boston’s desperation fed their effectiveness. The Bruins defense were more active, making life extremely difficult on Buffalo’s zone exits. The Sabres weren’t nearly as smooth breaking out of their zone – their lack of polish played a role in that – and it trickled down into other aspects of their game. Most notably on their forecheck. It may not be totally fair to compare to game four considering how effective the Sabres were and how poor Boston was, but it was night and day for the Bruins D on puck retrievals and exits. The Sabres will need to find their way back to that style in the face of another elimination game. 

The Ostlund Injury Looms

For all the juice Noah Ostlund gave the Sabres when he re-entered the lineup, the Sabres lost it when he exited early in game five. Ostlund’s absence forced Tyson Kozak into a higher role and one he isn’t well suited for. Juggling 11 forwards for the majority of the game was a struggle for the Sabres, especially after losing one as effective as Ostlund. Lindy Ruff’s postgame remarks didn’t inspire confidence, so hopefully Josh Norris is ready for a return because none of Buffalo’s remaining forwards offer the sort of offensive pop the Sabres will need in order to replace Ostlund. 

One other thought on this. As exciting as it would be to see Konsta Helenius, I don’t think there’s a chance you see him in the lineup on Friday. Even without Ostlund, the Sabres have a pile of extra forwards before they even get to Helenius. It would be an awfully interesting move to make, but I’d bet on Norris returning and Kozak remaining in his role on the fourth line. For now. 

More is Needed from the McLeod Line

There have been some nice individual flashes from the McLeod-Quinn-Zucker trio, but they haven’t been overly impressive at even strength. They’re below 50% in expected goals at five-on-five as a group and they just haven’t offered enough through the first five games. Quinn has been the most noticeable of the three, but his contributions have been middling. McLeod’s best contributions have been on the penalty kill and Zucker made a terrific pass to Dahlin for Buffalo’s first power play goal of the series. But overall, the line simply hasn’t performed as a unit. 

Unlike the other three lines, this is the one that lacks a true dog. That shows up on the forecheck and it was especially prevalent on Tuesday. Things were just a little too easy for the Bruins exiting their zone when the McLeod line was on the ice. They don’t need to turn into a facsimile of the Ostlund-Benson-Doan line, but they need to find a way to be more impactful at even strength. 

Get Pucks Through

Don’t read this as a plea to simply shoot from everywhere. Launching low percentage shots from the perimeter won’t win this series. However, the Sabres had a lot of shots blocked, particularly from the point and considering the success they found taking away Jeremy Swayman’s eyes, getting a few of those through to the net could have added up to a few more grade-A chances throughout the game. I will add that there were a few instances tonight where Swayman wasn’t clean handling pucks that came through traffic. Kozak had one of the best chances of the night on one of those plays. Add five or six more looks off point tries and maybe the Sabres get another one behind Swayman in regulation. 

A Stirring Anthem

There are a million and one reasons it’s shame the Sabres didn’t close out the series on Tuesday. But one that I hope won’t be totally forgotten was the incredible, organic response the fans had to Cami Clune’s microphone cutting out during the Canadian anthem. Hearing the entire crowd pick up for the singer as she struggled with a malfunctioning mic was stunning and reminiscent of the crowd participation that makes Edmonton’s anthems so memorable. That was a reality special moment and it would have made for a really beautiful cherry on top of a clinching sundae. Alas, the Sabres will need to go back to work on Friday in an attempt to end this series.