Tuukka Time in Buffalo as Bruins Stop Sabres for Second Straight Win

It may finally be Tuukka Time.

Tuesday saw another blown lead for the Bruins, but instead of a loss at the end of the night, goaltender Tuukka Rask backstopped Boston to a 3-2 shootout win over the first-place Buffalo Sabres.

The Sabres had lost four straight coming in, and the Bruins looked to take advantage early. Winger Daniel Paille, who was traded from Buffalo to Boston on Oct. 20, scored his eighth and ninth goals of the season in the first period, the first on a quick wraparound and the second on a tip of a Zdeno Chara blast from the blue line. The two tallies got the Bruins off to a 2-0 lead for the fourth straight game.

But as has become customary for Bruins opponents, the Sabres fought back in the second. Following a phantom holding penalty on Steve Begin 3:46 into the period, Buffalo was handed a 5-on-3 advantage. Shortly thereafter, Derek Roy halved the Bruins’ lead with a power-play goal, beating Rask with a wrist shot from just across the blue line. Then, with just 1:25 remaining in the frame, Tyler Myers beat Rask to the glove side with another dipping wrister from between the circles.

Despite plenty of chances and exciting back-and-forth play in the third period and overtime, Rask and Buffalo netminder Ryan Miller kept the score tied.

In the shootout, Jason Pominville bested Rask on Buffalo’s first attempt, but Marco Sturm evened the score, throwing Miller off with a quick acceleration move and beating him under his right arm. Rask and Miller stood tall until the fourth round, when Drew Stafford was thwarted by Rask and David Krejci ended it, beating Miller with a quick snap shot just under his glove hand.

The Bruins have now taken three of four from the Sabres so far this season. This is the B’s first two-game winning streak since Dec. 30 and Jan. 1.

Bruins 3, Sabres 2 (2-1 in shootout)
HSBC Arena, Buffalo, N.Y.
Feb. 9, 2010

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Headliner: Rask made his fourth straight start for the Bruins on Tuesday, and fans and experts alike were wondering before faceoff whether or not he’s taken over the lead role from reigning Vezina Trophy winner Tim Thomas. Let’s just say that Rask’s performance against the Sabres won’t hurt his chances.

The 22-year-old goaltender stopped 43 of 45 shots on the night and was particularly huge in the third period and overtime. Left short-handed following a Dennis Wideman cross-check halfway through the third, Rask made six huge saves on Buffalo’s power play — including several from point-blank range — slowing their attack and keeping the score tied at 2.

Grinder: Playing against his former team, Paille got the Bruins off to a quick start, netting two goals in the first period and nearly adding a third near the end of the frame before getting stoned on a breakaway by Miller. The 25-year-old Ontario native had five shots on goal and was plus-2 in his fifth career two-goal game.

Weak Link: Michael Ryder‘s scoring struggles continued on Tuesday night. Though the sniper got three shots on net and had chance after chance to salt the game away for the Bruins, he was unable to put one home. Even in the shootout, Ryder, shooting second for Boston, tried to beat Miller high to his blocker side but sent his shot high, careening it off the boards behind the Buffalo net.

Key Moment: It was hugely important to get off to a quick start against the high-scoring Sabres — and Paille’s first period tallies played a major role in the game. But it was a grittier moment that proved that the Bruins of 2008-09 may be on their way back.

When Buffalo tough guy Paul Gaustad picked a fight with dinged-up Boston captain Zdeno Chara midway through the second period, Z clearly wanted no piece of him. Either wary of getting a game misconduct by brawling with his bare and taped-up pinkie or simply not wanting to get involved in this kind of extracurricular activity, Chara refused to drop the gloves.

Milan Lucic to the rescue. The brawny winger raced to his captain’s side, gave Gaustad a heavy-handed face wash and helped Chara to exit stage left without drawing a penalty.

It wasn’t a significant play in terms of the final score, but it showed that the Bruins are back to standing up for each other despite their injuries, despite the adversity they’ve faced recently and despite whatever other struggles they might encounter.

What’s Next: The Bruins will stay on the road until the upcoming Olympic break. They’ll have a day off on Wednesday before heading down to Florida for their final two tilts before the two-week NHL hiatus.

On Thursday, the B’s face the Lightning in Tampa. Standing at 26-21-11 with 63 points on the campaign (two more than the Bruins), the Lightning are among the seven teams separated by five or fewer points occupying the sixth through 12th positions in the uber-tight Eastern Conference. Following Tuesday night’s win over Vancouver, the Lightning have won four straight and are now sixth in the East.

So far this season, the Bruins and Lightning have split their two games. The B’s won 4-1 in Boston on Dec. 2 while the Lightning scored a 2-1 triumph at home on Dec. 28.

The Lightning offense is led by savvy veteran (and UVM alum) Martin St. Louis and second-year wunderkind Steven Stamkos, while Antero Niittymaki (16-9-5) has been getting most of the action of late between the pipes.

After Thursday night’s tilt in Tampa, the Bruins will have an off day Friday before heading over to the eastern part of the state to take on the Panthers on Saturday.