Talking Points: Perfection And Coyle, Bruins Win 5-1

The Boston Bruins bounced back from one of their ugliest losses of the season and dominated the Buffalo Sabres in a 5-1 win Wednesday in Buffalo.

That 4-0 loss to the Calgary Flames on Sunday clearly left an imprint as Patrice Bergeron, Charlie Coyle, and David Pastrnak all had a goal and an assist. Boston Bruins forward Taylor Hall and defenseman Mike Reilly also lit the lamp, and forward Nick Foligno had two helpers.

Boston Bruins rookie goalie Jeremy Swayman was thrown into a last-minute start and did his job making 24 saves on 25 saves.

Birthday hugs for everyone. 🎂 pic.twitter.com/3U4AbHcBuV

— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) November 25, 2021

Kyle Okposo scored the lone goal for the Sabres. Aaron Dell got lit up for four goals on 22 shots and Dustin Tokarski made 24 saves on 25 shots in relief.

GOLD STAR: Charlie Coyle – Look, let’s get this out of the way now. Yours truly has been hard on Coyle and saying he is better suited as the 3C on the Boston Bruins center depth chart. Well, as I always try to do, I admit when I’m wrong, and right now, Coyle is making me look an idiot. With a goal and an assist Wednesday, Coyle now has three goals and two assists in his last five games. Coyle is seizing the moment and given the uncertainty of the top 6 for this team, this is huge.

CC finding the 🍪 s@CharlieCoyle_3's first-period snipe is tonight's @JagermeisterUSA Shot of the Game! pic.twitter.com/5dUZhoEdbc

— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) November 25, 2021

BLACK EYE: The state of the Buffalo Sabres. Seriously, this puck scribe that grew up watching the Sabres-Boston Bruins rivalry of the eighties and early nineties is disgusted. The Pegulas ownership is a straight-out disgrace! 9,416 attendance for the Thanksgiving Eve game is embarrassing. It is so hard to watch what I consider a good hockey town be disrespected.

TURNING POINT: 1st Period – The Boston Bruins didn’t waste time setting the tone in this game. After Okposo put the Sabres up 1-0 at 10:56 of the opening frame, the Bruins caught fire scoring the next three goals to lead 4-1 after one.

HONORABLE MENTION: Perfection line – One of these lines is usually the Gold Star and to be honest, Patrice Bergeron or David Pastrank could’ve been with a goal and an assist each. That’s true on so many nights but on Wednesday, perfection was complimentary.

BY THE NUMBERS: 33-15- that was how bad the Boston Bruins beat the Sabres on the dot. Bergeron was 12-2 and Tomas Nosek was 8-1 on faceoffs.