BOSTON — The Boston Bruins and Buffalo Sabres have played six periods of hockey in their Eastern Conference First Round series. The Bruins, who were the road team, were happy with five of them.
They’ll take it.
Having left Buffalo with a 4-2 victory in Game 2 on Tuesday to split the first two games of the best-of-7 series, Boston headed back to TD Garden satisfied with how it responded, how it stole the momentum the Sabres had earned with their come-from-behind epic 4-3 win in Game 1. The Bruins liked the way they returned to their game, including an uptick in play from their second line, and the continued excellence from goalie Jeremy Swayman.
“We’ve been forechecking much better,” forward David Pastrnak said. “We’ve been playing simple and focused on the details, so we just have to focus on us and know what gives us success. Play best to our abilities.”
But the Sabres have belief too: Game 2 marked the second straight game in which they have been able to make hay in the third period, taking the win in Game 1 and making it closer than anticipated in Game 2.
“For us, going on the road, we don’t have to make too much of it,” goalie Alex Lyon said Wednesday. “We’re going there to bring our best for 60 minutes tomorrow night and that’s that. Simple mindset and just do the right things, continue the habits that we’ve been working on and just not overthink it too much.”
The Bruins are being led into Game 3 by their leading scorer from the regular season, Pastrnak, who finished 2025-26 with 100 points (29 goals, 71 assists) in 77 games. He has continued that run through the first two games of the postseason, with five points (one goal, four assists), tied with Minnesota Wild forward Joel Eriksson Ek and Dallas Stars forwards Jason Robertson, Wyatt Johnston and Matt Duchene.
If Pastrnak has a third straight multipoint game, he would become the seventh skater in Boston history to start such a postseason run and first since Jean Ratelle, Bobby Schmautz and Terry O’Reilly in 1977.
But whatever he does individually, the Bruins and Sabres each are turning their efforts simply to come out with a win, to shrug off all that happened in Buffalo and start fresh with a lead in the series.
“Today is a new day, focus on Game 3,” Pastrnak said. “Whatever happened, happened. We’ve been trying to stay in the moment the whole year round, don’t look in the past, whether it’s good or bad. Just refocus for tonight.”
