On the verge of ending their NHL-record, 14-season playoff drought, the Buffalo Sabres are staying in the moment.
Meanwhile, the Boston Bruins likely can’t afford to give up too many points as they fight for their own playoff positioning.
Back home from another successful road trip, the Sabres aim to hand the Bruins a second straight defeat Wednesday night.
Sitting atop the Atlantic Division and second in the Eastern Conference standings, Buffalo (44-20-7, 95 points) is a stunning 33-6-3 since Dec. 9 and is eying its first playoff appearance since 2011.
“Just believing,” said Sabres coach Lindy Ruff, who guided the club to that most recent playoff appearing during his first go-around in Buffalo. “Just get to that next game and try to move on.”
The Sabres are poised to move on from a Sunday 6-5 overtime loss at Anaheim. Despite the setback, Buffalo went 3-0-1 on the western-United States trip while amid a 12-1-1 overall stretch.
“We’ll continue to try to do the same things and keep a good attitude,” said Buffalo goaltender Alex Lyon, who yielded all six goals to end a six-start winning streak during which he posted a 1.81 goals-against average. “We just have to regroup. Kinda reset. We’ve got big games coming up.”
Buffalo now opens a four-game run at home, where it is amid a 5-1-0 stretch.
Sabres captain Rasmus Dahlin has two goals with three assists in the past three games, but the defenseman was blanked in the previous two home contests.
Teammate Alex Tuch has recorded seven goals and four assists in the past 11 games.
Buffalo’s Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen is 7-2-0 with a 2.19 goals-against average and a .925 save percentage since Jan. 19. He stopped 22 shots during the Sabres’ only win three games vs. Boston this season, a 4-1 home triumph on Dec. 27.
The Bruins (39-24-8, 86 points) currently own the top wild-card spot in the East, but they are just two points behind the third-place Montreal Canadiens in the Atlantic.
“It’s fun,” Boston forward Fraser Minten said. “It’s nice to be in really meaningful games every night right now. … Hopefully, we can keep it going into the postseason.”
Boston’s five-game point streak (3-0-2) ended with a 4-2 home loss to the lowly Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday.
Elias Lindholm and Charlie McAvoy scored for the Bruins, who are 7-4-5 since the start of February and haven’t absorbed back-to-back regulation losses since a three-game skid from Dec. 21-27.
“That’s the best part about being in this league, you can redeem yourself the next day,” said veteran Boston defenseman Nikita Zadorov, who spent his first two NHL seasons in Buffalo.
“(The Sabres) are on a roll. They are a good hockey team.”
Lindholm has three points in the past two games after being shutout in the previous seven. McAvoy, meanwhile, has posted four goals and 10 assists during a 10-game road point streak.
Boston star David Pastrnak has recorded six goals and nine assists during his 10-game overall point streak. He has notched 18 goals and 30 assists in 44 career contests against Buffalo.
The Bruins’ Jeremy Swayman (2.72 GAA) stopped 31 shots in making his fourth consecutive start on Tuesday. Backup Joonas Korpisalo is 0-1-2 with a 4.57 GAA this month.
–Field Level Media
