Final, Sabres 4-3 (OT): The Sabres take this one as Nathan Gerbe follows his own shot and slips a pass under Tim Thomas over to Brad Boyes, who taps it home at the right post for the win with 1:16 left in overtime.
The Bruins have now lost three straight after winning seven in a row, though they have earned single points in two of those defeats by reaching overtime.
They now head back on the road Friday to face the Islanders.
Overtime, 2:53, 3-3: Rich Peverley nearly ends it, but his shot from the slot clangs off the left post.
Overtime, 0:00, 3-3: And the extra session is under way here at the Garden.
End of Regulation, 3-3: This one won’t be settled in 60 minutes. The Bruins had some chances in the final minute with the Krejci line out, but couldn’t cash in. It’s head to a five-minute 4-on-4 overtime now.
Third Period, 18:18, 3-3: Another big scrum around the Boston net as Thomas holds the fort and Marchand and Gaustad end up tangled up. No penalties called on the exchange.
Third Period, 17:26, 3-3: Vanek with the steal at the blue line, moves around Seidenberg and almost sets up Grier at the left post, but Grier can’t handle the pass.
Third Period, 15:55, 3-3: Mark Recchi with a bid from the right circle, but Miller snares it with the glove.
Third Period, 12:27, 3-3: Thomas Vanek gets behind the Bruins defense and nearly has a chance to break in alone, but he’s offsides on the play.
Third Period, 10:23, 3-3: Things have settled down a bit here with the game now tied midway through the third at the Garden. This is a huge final 10 minutes ahead for the Bruins, who can’t afford to drop a third straight game to a Eastern Conference rival.
Third Period, 7:34, 3-3: The Sabres’ goal has been changed to Tim Connolly. Boyes now credited with an assist on the play.
Third Period, 5:05, 3-3: The Sabres tie it on the 5-on-3 as the puck deflects past Thomas out of a scramble in front. Former Bruin Brad Boyes is credited with the goal.
Third Period, 3:42, Bruins 3-2: And now it’s another two-man advantage for the Sabres with Brad Marchand called for tripping. The Bruins will be down two men for 1:44.
Third Period, 3:25, Bruins 3-2: The Bruins are shorthanded again as Mark Recchi is sent off for two minutes for high-sticking.
Third Period, 2:18, Bruins 3-2: The power play may not be producing, but for the second time in this one the Bruins strike just after one expires.
Greg Campbell nets his 10th of the season on a rebound in front through Miller’s legs to put Boston back ahead. Chara and Thornton get the assists.
Third Period, 1:53, 2-2: The Bruins come up empty on yet another power play, as this one remains tied as the sides are back at even strength.
Third Period, 0:00, 2-2: And the final frame is under way, with the Bruins opening on a power play as they look to break their two-game losing streak.
Brick’s Breaks Down the Game: Just spent a few minutes with NESN analyst Andy Brickley for his take on the first two periods and what he sees the Bruins need to do in the third.
Here’s Brick’s take on the game:
“I don’t know if it’s a case of hyper-sensitivity for the referees because of the [Zdeno] Chara situation, but that was a very poor display of officiating. Every penalty in that [second] period it was not even questionable they were wrong. Boarding [on Chara] 30 feet from the boards, how does that happen? Cross-checking to [Dennis] Seidenberg? That’s a play that happens countless times in a game. It’s not even a cross-check. It’s a push. But as players you have to fight through it and the penalty killers have been great. Killing that 5 on 3 was critical.
“Buffalo has been playing playoff games for a month and it’s a credit to them. That was a great goal by [Tyler] Ennis to counter the [Mark] Recchi goal. Still, I love Boston’s compete level tonight and their emotional investment in this one.
“They know how they’ve played in the last two games and how they have to turn that around. They know how important this third period ahead of them is. I like what they’ve done tonight. I like their approach so far.”
End Second Period, 2-2: And eventful middle frame comes to a close with tempers short and the score tied through 40 minutes.
Second Period, 19:51, 2-2: More fisticuffs as a lengthy scrum eventually finds Milan Lucic and Cody McCormick dropping the gloves. McCormick went down a couple times, but Lucic pulled him back up to continue the bout.
The Bruins get a power play out of teh exchange with Buffalo’s Chris Butler picking up a roughing minor in addition to Lucic and McCormick’s fighting majors.
Second Period, 19:11, 2-2: The gloves come off again with Adam McQuaid scuaring off with Paul Gaustad. Gaustad got in some early uppercuts, but McQuaid quickly took over and landed some big shots to score the decision.
Second Period, 18:52, 2-2: The Sabres finally strike on the power play as Tyler Ennis drove down the right side behind the net and fed it out front to Thomas Vanek for the goal.
Second Period, 17:08, Bruins 2-1: The Bruins are shorthanded yet again. Tomas Kaberle is sent off for tripping Mike Grier, who went down very easily as they battled for the puck in his skates.
Second Period, 16:11, Bruins 2-1: The Bruins kill off that penalty as well, and nearly have a 2-on-1 with Lucic and Boychuk out of the box but Lucic’s pass gets broken up.
Second Period, 14:11, Bruins 2-1: Thomas makes a few more saves in a scramble in front of his net, but the Bruins take another penalty. Johnny Boychuk goes off this time for hooking.
Second Period, 11:53, Bruins 2-1: The Sabres answer right back to cut the deficit to one again as Tyler Ennis gets Buffalo on the board.
Second Period, 11:26, Bruins 2-0: The Bruins can’t convert the power play, but they keep the puck in the zone and Mark Recchi eventually scores to double the lead.
Chara pinched in deep on the left side and passed it out front to Michael Ryder. His shot hit a skate in the crease, but Recchi banged it home.
Second Period, 9:17, Bruins 1-0: The Bruins survive the two-man power play as the Sabres are now charged with too many men on the ice.
Second Period, 7:13, Bruins 1-0: Now the Bruins will be two men down as Seidenberg is called for cross-checking in front. Huge test for the PK here.
Second Period, 6:54, Bruins 1-0: The Bruins will be shorthanded as Chara is called for boarding. It’s 4 on 3 for 50 seconds before McQuaid and Grier get out of the box.
Second Period, 5:43, Bruins 1-0: Thomas with another series of saves, then a scrum in front with McQuaid and Grier shoving and Marchand tied up with Chris Butler. Chara plays peacemaker to calm things down, but McQuaid and Grier each get two for roughing so it will be 4 on 4 for the next two minutes.
Second Period, 4:28, Bruins 1-0: The Bruins with a chance at an odd-man break, but Krejci can’t quite connect with Lucic at the left post.
Second Period, 1:49, Bruins 1-0: The Bruins are pressuring early in the second. Kelly had a wraparound bid early with Recchi in front looking for the rebound, then Marchand nearly set up Peverley at the top of the crease on a rush.
Second Period, 0:00, Bruins 1-0: And the middle frame is under way here at the Garden, with the Bruins looking to extend their one-goal lead on the Sabres.
First Intermission Notes: The Bruins got the start they needed, putting the distractions of the last couple days out of their minds and playing their game by setting a physical tone early.
Zdeno Chara looks like his usual self with a hit, a shot and a blocked shot in 6:15. He’s been greeted warmly by the Garden faithful whenever he’s toughed the puck.
The top line continues to be red hot with Nathan Horton scoring from David Krejci and Milan Lucic. Rich Peverley’s speed looks like a good fit with Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand,while Mark Recchi is turning in one of his better efforts of late with plenty of energy and intensity skating with Chris Kelly and Michael Ryder. The only negative of the period was some sloppy play in their own zone, but Tim Thomas covered for those miscues with a few big saves. He definitely looks like his old self after a little rest.
End First Period, Bruins 1-0: A strong opening period for the Bruins comes to a close with Boston holding a one-goal lead.
First Period, 17:43, Bruins 1-0: The Bruins with a chance in front as McQuaid pinches in for a shot from between the circles, but Miller makes the save.
First Period, 16:17, Bruins 1-0: More chippy play in this one as Mark Recchi goes nose to nose with Drew Stafford after the whistle. No penalties come from that scrum.
First Period, 14:57, Bruins 1-0: Thomas with another, this time robbing Jason Pominville at the left post as he somehow gets the pad across in time for the save.
First Period, 11:45, Bruins 1-0: Another turonver down low and another big save by Thomas, this time on Thomas Vanek in close.
First Period, 8:54, Bruins 1-0: The top line strikes again, as Nathan Horton puts the Bruins on the board as he crashes the net at the right post.
Linemates David Krejci and Milan Lucic pick up the assists as Krejci fed it up to Lucic on the left wing and Lucic crossed the puck over to Horton at the right post.
First Period, 7:19, 0-0: Thomas comes up with his first huge save of the night. A turnover down low creates a 2-on-0 break, but Thomas stones Jordan Leopold on the shot from the top of the crease.
First Period, 6:36, 0-0: That power play didn’t last long, as Brad Marchand draws a tripping call on Tyler Myers to even the sides just five seconds into Thornton’s penalty time.
First Period, 6:31, 0-0: The Sabres get the first power play of the night as Shawn Thornton is sent off for interference after getting tangled up with Paul Gaustad in front of the benches.
First Period, 4:11, 0-0: Milan Lucic delivers a big hit in the corner on former Bruin Shaone Morrisonn, which leads to a scoring chance in front for Lucic that Miller denies.
First Period, 2:54, 0-0: And the gloves do come off, with McCormick and Campbell squaring off in the Buffalo zone. McCormick does most of the punching with a series of rights hitting just the back of Campbell’s helmet. He switched to the left and connected better then to end the scrap.
First Period, 1:00, 0-0: The Bruins appear to want to set a physical tone in this one, as McQuaid has some words for McCormick off the draw and Thornton appears to challenge Montador later in the shift. No takers so far though.
First Period, 0:00, 0-0: The Bruins and Sabres both have some toughness in their starting lineups as this one gets under way.
The Bruins start the fourth line of Shawn Thornton, Greg Campbell and Daniel Paille with Dennis Seidenberg and Adam McQuaid on defense and Tim Thomas in goal.
Buffalo counters with Cody McCormick, Mike Grier and Rob Niedermayer up front, Andrej Sekera and Steve Montador on the blue line and Ryan Miller in net to start this one off.
7 p.m.: Tyler Seguin is officially the healthy scratch. Andrew Ference (lower body) and Steven Kampfer (concussion) remain out as well.
Buffalo scratches Mike Weber, while Patrick Lalime (knee), Jochen Hecht (upper body) and Patrick Kaleta (lower body) are also out.
6:40 p.m.: Daniel Paille skated the drills on the fourth line with Greg Campbell and Shawn Thornton during warm-ups. Nothing official yet, but it appears that Tyler Seguin could be heading back to the press box for this one.
6:35 p.m.: Daniel Paille and Tyler Seguin are both on the ice for warm-ups, so no indication yet on the healthy scratch for the Bruins in this one.
6:30 p.m.: Tim Thomas and Ryan Miller lead their teams onto the ice for warm-ups. As expected, that will be the goaltending matchup in this one as the last two Vezina winners go head to head.
6 p.m.: The Bruins will finally be able to get their focus back on hockey in about an hour. Or at least they’ll try, as they return to action against the Sabres in a Northeast Division clash at the Garden.
Boston held an optional skate in the morning, but Tim Thomas was the first goalie off. That should put him in line to start this one after Tuukka Rask took the loss in Montreal on Tuesday.
Ryan Miller is expected to get the call for Buffalo, which would make it a matchup of the last two Vezina winners.
8 a.m.: The Bruins return home Thursday after an ugly night in Montreal on Tuesday. They won’t have long to licks their wounds from that 4-1 defeat and will have to quickly shake off the distractions of the controversy surrounding Zdeno Chara’s hit on Canadiens forward Max Pacioretty and the league’s decision not to suspend the Bruins captain.
The good news is that Chara will be in the lineup when the surging Sabres come to town. They’ll need him on the ice and playing like his usual self despite the tumultuous last two days as Buffalo is more than capable of extending Boston’s losing streak to three games.
The Sabres dropped a 3-1 decision in Pittsburgh on Tuesday, but were 5-0-2 prior to that to climb back into a playoff position. Ryan Miller is starting to look more like last year’s Vezina-winning version. He hasn’t allowed more than three goals in any of his last 10 starts and is 19-5-7 with a 2.61 GAA all-time against Boston, including a 3-0-1 mark this year against the Bruins.
Much of the credit for that goes to forward Drew Stafford, who has seven of his 26 goals this year in three games against Boston. That includes a pair of hat tricks, one capped by a game-tying goal at 19:32 of the third period to force overtime on Jan. 1. Buffalo won that one 7-6 in a shootout, with Stafford also scoring in the shootout that day.
The Sabres have won each of the last three meetings after the Bruins took the first two encounters this season. Thursday’s clash will be the last between the clubs unless they meet again in the playoffs.
The puck drops at 7 p.m., so check back here throughout the day for updates on all the action.
