Marco Sturm is a rookie coach who is acting like a veteran coach. Sam Navarro / Imagn Images
April 19, 2026 1:13 pm EDT
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Marco Sturm had a plan when he said the Boston Bruins were bigger and stronger than the Buffalo Sabres. He wanted a reaction. He got it.
“Somebody had fun with it,” the Bruins coach said with a smile before Game 1. “So I’m glad that happened.”
Sturm is a rookie coach, but he is acting like a veteran in how he’s trying to impact the series. In the same answer, Sturm credited the run-and-gun Sabres for being an offensive powerhouse.
“When we’re hard on pucks, strong on pucks, when we are physical, we have a chance,” Sturm said Sunday. “If we decide to play their way, might as well stay at home. Because they’re that good. If you’re a Boston Bruin, we just have to play that way. If it’s not, it’s going to be long. Because they skate well. They’re skilled enough. They have 108 points for a reason.”
Sabres captain Rasmus Dahlin should be driving the bus at both ends. Dahlin and Mattias Samuelsson could get the shutdown assignment against Morgan Geekie, Elias Lindholm and David Pastrnak. If the Bruins don’t manage the puck well in the offensive zone, Dahlin will be delighted to go the other way.
“If you let him, he’s going to destroy us, basically,” Sturm said. “We cannot allow that to happen. What it means is we need to stop him. The best thing is to be finishing our checks and make sure when he’s on the ice, we’re aware. Because he’s that good.”
KeyBank Center will explode at puck drop because of the Sabres’ 14-year postseason no-show. The Bruins could get their doors blown off if the Sabres tap into the crowd’s frenzy.
“The pressure is on them, too,” Sturm said. “They’ve been waiting for this moment. Not just the players — the organization, the fans, the city’s been waiting for that moment. There is a lot of pressure on the home team.”
Apr 19, 2026
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