Game 3: Boston Bruins @ Sabres Lines, Preview

The Boston Bruins (1-1-0) will try to bounce back from an ugly 6-3 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers when they complete their first road trip of the season against the Buffalo Sabres (3-0-0), at KeyBank Arena in Buffalo on Friday night.

This is the first game of the season for the Boston Bruins that will only be broadcast exclusively on ESPN+ and Hulu Network so Bruins fans will need a subscription to one or both of those networks to watch their team tonight. You can subscribe to ESPN+ here and get access to both with a Hulu subscription here.

Despite losing their captain Jack Eichel and the controversy that has surrounded the team from that disaster, the Sabres have stormed out to a 3-0-0 start and with the always rocking Friday night crowd in Buffalo, this won’t be the typical easy win for the Bruins as they try to get their second win of the season. The Sabres are looking to improve to 4-0-0 for the first time since 2008-09.

Former Buffalo Sabres goalie Linus Ullmark will make his first start of the season for the Boston Bruins and veteran journeyman and veteran goalie Craig Anderson will get the nod for the Sabres. Anderson is 2-0-0 and has stopped 62 of 65 shots for a .954 save percentage with a 1.50 goals-against average.

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Boston Bruins Notes

-The Boston Bruins will have some changes in their lineup Friday. With veteran winger Nick Foligno out with an upper-body injury, winger Anton Blidh will draw in and play left wing on the fourth line with Trent Frederic and Karson Kuhlman. That will push forward Tomas Nosek up to the third line where he will ride the right wing next to Erik Haula and Jake DeBrusk. On the blue line, John Moore will make his season debut as he draws in for Connor Clifton and plays the right side on the third pairing with Matt Grzelcyk.

#NHLBruins pregame updates per Coach Cassidy:

Anton Blidh will sub in for the injured Nick Foligno and play on the fourth line with Trent Frederic in the middle and Karson Kuhlman on the right.

Tomas Nosek moves up to third-line right wing.

John Moore is in for Connor Clifton. pic.twitter.com/3yFiWqWv7Z

— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) October 22, 2021

-Boston Bruins winger Brad Marchand has stormed out of the gate with three goals in three games. Marchand had two goals in the season-opening 3-1 win over the Dallas Stars last Saturday and then lit the lamp on Wednesday in Philly as well.

– The Bruins were sloppy in their 6-3 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers Wednesday and played ‘losing hockey’ according to Boston Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy. The Bruins will look to find their winning ways against a team they have basically owned in recent years. Since October 4, 2018, the Bruins are 13-2-0 against the Sabres.

-This is the second of a two-game roadie for the Boston Bruins before they return to Boston for a Sunday matinee (1 PM ET) against the San Jose Sharks. The Bruins then head on the road for another two-game road trip on October 27 (at Florida Panthers) and October 28 (at Carolina Hurricanes).

Buffalo Sabres Notes

– As mentioned above, the Sabres have been one of the surprise stories in the NHL thus far. One of the keys to their hot start has been the quantity and quality of their shots each game. FOBHN (Friend of BHN), John Buccigross of ESPN, tweeted these two tidbits Friday morning:

The Sabres are 2nd in the league in shot attempts per game from the slot compared to ranking 26th out of 31 teams just a season ago. pic.twitter.com/txo7I41oGc

— Bucci Mane (@Buccigross) October 22, 2021

The Sabres have outshot their opponents in all three games by a total margin of 112-86.. The Sabres were outshot by their opponents in over 73 percent of their games last season, a rate that was the third-highest in the league behind only the Canucks and Blue Jackets (75% each). pic.twitter.com/6DmLq83pnO

— Bucci Mane (@Buccigross) October 22, 2021

-Cody Eakin is out after suffering an injury during practice on Wednesday. He is expected to return at some point next week, Sabres coach Don Granato said Thursday.

-The Sabres have been getting scoring from throughout the lineup so far. Kyle Okposo, Zemgus Girgensons, and  Tage Thompson each have two goals, and Eakin, former Boston Bruins forward Anders Bjork, Victor Olofsson, Jeff Skinner, Rasmus Asplund, each have a goal apiece. Former Bruins defenseman Colin Miller leads the team in assists with four helpers.

Boston Bruins Lines

Forwards:

Brad Marchand – Patrice Bergeron – David Pastrnak

Taylor Hall – Charlie Coyle – Craig Smith

Jake DeBrusk – Erik Haula – Tomáš Nosek 

Anton Blidh -Trent Frederic – Karson Kuhlman

Defense:

Derek Forbort – Charlie McAvoy

Mike Reilly – Brandon Carlo

Matt Grzelcyk – John Moore

Goalies:

Linus Ullmark

Jeremy Swayman

Buffalo Sabres Lines

Forwards:

Jeff Skinner – Dylan Cozens – Vinnie Hinostroza

Rasmus Asplund – Tage Thompson – Victor Olofsson

Andres Bjork – Zemgus Girgensons – Kyle Okposo

Drake Caggiula – Arrtu Ruosalainen – John Hayden

Defense:

Rasmus Dahlin – Will Butcher

Jacob Bryson – Colin Miller

Robert Hagg – Mark Pysyk

Goalies:

Craig Anderson

Dustin Tokarski