Boston Bruins

Bruins vs. Sabres Preview: Lines, Notes, How To Watch

Published

3 weeks ago

December 21, 2024

After a lengthy road trip, the Boston Bruins return home tonight for a matchup with the Buffalo Sabres at TD Garden. Here’s what you need to know before puck drop.

Coyle Gets Chance To Be A Top Player Again:

Charlie Coyle has struggled as much, if not more, than anyone on the team this season. Tonight, he gets the chance to be a top player for the Bruins again.

Charlie Coyle Gets Chance To Be Top Player For Bruins Again

Projected Bruins Lines:

Geekie – Zacha – Pastrnak

Marchand – E. Lindholm – Coyle

Brazeau – Frederic – Wahlstrom

Beecher – Kastelic – Koepke

Zadorov – McAvoy

Oesterle – Carlo

Lohrei – Peeke

Korpisalo

Swayman

Last Time Out:

Perhaps it was the nearly two weeks of travel through Western Canada that caught up to them, or maybe it was the difficult task of having to keep pace with the Edmonton Oilers. Either way, the Bruins ran out of gas in the final game of their lengthy road trip.

Bruins Blow Early Lead, Fall To Oilers In Overtime

A two-goal advantage wasn’t enough security against Connor McDavid and Co. After the Bruins got out to a 2-0 lead at the end of the first period, Edmonton won the game in overtime by scoring three unanswered goals, including a couple that Jeremy Swayman really should’ve stopped.

The Opponent:

There’s no team that has it worse than the Buffalo Sabres.

That’s not anything particularly new, considering the Sabres have failed to make the playoffs in each of the last 13 seasons. Somehow, though, they’ve managed to hit a new low.

The Sabres are winless in each of its last 12 games and have been outscored 51-27 in that span.

To really put things into perspective, the last time the Sabres won a game was before Thanksgiving. Tonight, they arrive in Boston just 24 hours after falling 6-3 to the Toronto Maple Leafs.

What’s so surprising about this miserable stretch is that the Sabres actually have a pretty talented roster on paper.

They have two former first overall picks on the blue line in Rasmus Dahlin and Owen Power, and Tage Thompson is one of the league’s most lethal snipers, with 16 goals this season.

But still, the Sabres are, well, the Sabres. They are in the bottom half of the league in both special teams units, 30th on the power play (13.5%) and 23rd on the penalty kill (77.1%).

After getting pulled early in the second period last night for allowing four goals on just 13 shots, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen is expected to start in net for Buffalo again this evening. If not, the Bruins will get to see their favorite punching bag, James Reimer.

How To Watch:

Puck drop between the Bruins and Sabres is slated for 7 p.m. EST at TD Garden. The game can be seen on NESN and streamed on NESN 360 or ESPN Plus for out-of-market viewers. 98.5 The Sports Hub will carry the radio broadcast of the game.