Bruins let Game 3 get away in third period and lose to Sabres, 3-1

Steve Conroy, Boston Herald on Apr 23, 2026

Published in Hockey

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BOSTON — So much for the home-ice advantage.

After the Bruins took it away from the Buffalo Sabres with a Game 2 win in Keybank Center on Tuesday, they gave it right back on Thursday when the Sabres shook off an early one-goal deficit and came away with a 3-1 win at TD Garden.

The B’s now have two days off to lick their wounds and prepare for Sunday’s Game 4.

Alex Tuch broke a 1-1 tie at 4:03 of the third period. The Sabres maintained possession in the B’s zone when Tuch threw a reverse hit on Mason Lohrei, leading with his elbow. The officials were laser-focused on post-whistle scrums but they missed that obvious one. The B’s could not regain control of the puck and Tuch beat Jeremy Swayman with a high wrist shot.

The B’s got a power play when Rasmus Dahlin interfered with Charlie McAvoy at 11:27, but the B’s got little out of it.

They got another PP with 5:47 left in regulation when Tage Thompson tripped Andrew Peeke. The B’s had several good chances on this one, the best one being a Morgan Geekie blast from the left elbow but Alex Lyon (24 saves) made the stop. The B’s were 0 for 4 on the power play.

Then Noah Ostlund ended it with an empty net goal with 1:24 left. The B’s pulled Swayman but, almost immediately the B’s lost control of the at the Buffalo blue line. Ostlund chased down a clear-out and sneaked it under David Pastrnak to make it 3-1.

The biggest question coming into Game 3 was what would Lindy Ruff do about his goaltending situation. Ukko-Pekka Lukkonen had a dreadful Game 2 before giving way to Lyon in the third period.

Lyon got the start and, almost immediately, it looked like a great decision. The Sabres outshot the B’s 13-9 in the first but the B’s had more Grade A chances in the first. Lyon was there to shut them all down. His first stop was on a clean shot from Pastrnak from the wing but there would be more. On a delayed penalty, he made a terrific stop on Pavel Zacha’s bid for a shortside goal. He then stoned Zacha on the ensuing power play on a redirect attempt.

On another PP chance, James Hagens whiffed on a one-timer attempt with much of the net staring at him.

Both teams got two power plays each in the first. The Sabres’ PP, which came into the season on an 0-for-22 skid and was 0 for 9 in the first two games, had some good chances but none that forced Swayman out of position.

There was some physicality — Charlie McAvoy absolutely buried Peyton Krebs off the hop — but little post-whistle chicanery. League officials gave the players a talking-to in the morning and, to back it up, Krebs got tagged with a roughing minor on what seemed like routine pushing and shove after the whistle.

The physicality ramped up early in the second period when the B’s fourth line flexed their muscle and cracked Lyon. After Tanner Jeannot blew up a couple of Sabres, he took a breakout pass from McAvoy just outside the Buffalo blue line. After gaining the zone, he let Mark Kastelic lead the way, took the puck to the top of the left circle and ripped a wrist shot past Lyon shortside at 3:26.

At 6:29, Morgan Geekie got the same treatment that Krebs got after Mattias Samuelsson took a couple of extra whacks at Swayman after the whistle and Geekie buried him. Geekie got tagged with a crosschecking penalty. The B’s killed that one off, too, but not without a hairy moment when Swayman was down and Tage Thompson had the puck. Three Bruins formed a wall and refused to let the shot get through.

The B’s had a great chance to go up by to at 9:50 when Viktor Arvidsson was granted a penalty shot. Samuelsson’s stick had broken in front of his own net and Arvidsson pounced. Owen Power had to take down Arvidsson, and it turned out to be a good penalty. On the freebie attempt, Lyon just got a piece of Arvidsson’s shot and it went wide.

The Sabres then tied it up shortly after that at 10:58. Noah Ostlund, inserted into the lineup for an injured Josh Norris, carried the puck deep into the left corner. He sent it out to Bowen Byram at the right point and Byram’s shot ramped up off Hagens’ stick blade into the top shelf.