Boston could be tempted to look past the Sabres with a showdown with Northeast Division-leading Montreal on tap for Thursday, but the Bruins would be wise not to take Buffalo lightly.
The Sabres remain under .500 thanks to a woeful start this season, but they have gone 4-2-1 in their last seven games behind the resurgent play of reigning Vezina winner Ryan Miller.
Miller got off to an uncharacteristic start as he allowed four or more goals four times in 10 October starts, but he’s allowed four in a game just once since then and is 3-1-1 with a 1.96 GAA, .928 save percentage and two shutouts in December.
“Their goaltending is back to [Miller] being himself and being a strong goaltender and a difference maker,” said Bruins coach Claude Julien. “I think they’ve gained some confidence offensively. They’re becoming a bigger threat. Their D is going up the ice and supporting the attack and they’re four guys in the offensive zone a lot of times. They’re really aggressive that way and we have to respect that and make sure we defend well. And if you do, then take advantage of hopefully the outnumbered situations you can create out of that and challenge their goaltender the best way you can.”
When and Where
Boston Bruins (16-8-4, 36 points) at Buffalo Sabres (12-14-4, 28 points)
Dec. 15, 7 p.m. (NESN)
HSBC Arena, Buffalo, N.Y.
Notes
- Former Bruin Steve Montador was atop the league leaderboard in plus/minus when Boston hosted the Sabres last Tuesday, but a minus-3 against Pittsburgh on Saturday has dropped him to a tie for 15th in the NHL at plus-13. Four Bruins are among the players ahead of him, with Nathan Horton at plus-17 and Milan Lucic, Zdeno Chara and Andrew Ference each at plus-15.
- Thomas Vanek has always been a Bruins killer, with 20-18-38 totals in 36 career games against Boston. It doesn’t bode well for the Bruins that he also enters this one with nine goals and 18 points in his last 15 games.
- The Sabres have just 14 fighting majors this season (compared to 26 for the Bruins in two fewer games), but Cody McCormick can’t be blamed for that. He has exactly half of them with seven, which already matches Montador’s team-leading total for all of last season.
- Buffalo has been hit hard by injuries, but could be getting healthy soon. Former Bruin Shaone Morrisonn (concussion) remains out indefinitely on defense, but forwards Tim Connolly (groin), Rob Niedermayer (knee) and Drew Stafford (shoulder) all returned to practice on Monday and could play on Wednesday against the Bruins.
- Bruins center David Krejci has caught fire in December, posting 2-6-8 totals and a plus-7 in six games so far this month. It’s no coincidence that run began when Krejci was reunited with Lucic and Horton on Boston’s top line. That has put Krejci on nearly a point-a-game pace for the season with 4-16-20 totals in 21 games.
- Horton and Lucic have benefited from the reunion with Krejci as well. After not scoring a goal for nine games, Horton has three in his last four games and has five points and is a plus-8 in six games this month. Lucic has 5-2-7 totals and is a plus-6 in those same six December games.
Outlook
The Bruins have played just seven of their first 28 games against Northeast Division rivals, but they face two key divisional clashes on back-to-back days this week. First up is Buffalo, which Boston beat handily 5-2 on Nov. 3 during the Sabres’ early-season slump. The Bruins had to sweat out a 3-2 overtime win over Buffalo at the Garden last week, and have never swept the Sabres in a season. Boston can take another step toward that on Wednesday, but this one promises to be another close, low-scoring battle between two traditional rivals.
