It had been quite a while since Anton Khudobin recorded a shutout in an NHL game, but he snapped the years-long drought on Tuesday night as he turned away 36 shots for the Boston Bruins in their 3-0 win over the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center.
It was the backup netminder’s first shutout since Nov. 7, 2015.
Jake DeBrusk provided the winning goal for the Bruins in the second period. The rookie winger had an absolute snipe of a goal, going top shelf on Buffalo goalie Robin Lehner’s near side for the winner.
Tim Schaller and David Backes added empty netters to seal the deal.
With the win, the Bruins improved to 17-10-5, while the Sabres fell to 8-19-7.
Here’s how it all went down:
KHUDOBIN STIFLES BUFFALO IN THE FIRST
Khudobin entered the game having allowed three goals the past two first period’s he’s been in net, but the B’s netminder instead turned away 17 shots in the opening frame Tuesday.
The Bruins, meanwhile, put 10 shots of their own on net in the scoreless first period.
Because of Khudobin’s play, arguably the most eventful part of the frame came less than five minutes in when Bruins defenseman Kevan Miller squared off with Sabres defenseman Zach Bogosian.
The Bruins were tasked with killing one penalty, which came eight and a half minutes into the frame after Patrice Bergeron slashed Kyle Okposo.
DeBRUSK OPENS THE SCORING
Just over 10 minutes into the second period, rookie Jake DeBrusk broke the deadlock. After the winger got the puck at center ice, he skated down the right wing, played through a check from Jason Pominville that put the puck into the boards, and wristed his eighth goal of the season into the top right corner.
The Sabres opened things up in the final minutes of the period, unloading a majority of their nine shots of the frame during that time, but each attempt was either turned away by Khudobin or blocked by Bruins skaters.
BRUINS ADD TWO EMPTY-NETTERS
The ice had opened up by the time the third period rolled around, but it wasn’t until Buffalo pulled Lehner that any more goals were scored.
Tim Schaller added the second goal of the night off a fortunate bounce off the boards as he attempted to clear the puck, while David Backes added the final tally moments later.
Here’s a look at Schaller’s goal:
UP NEXT
The Bruins will head back home and take on the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday. Puck drop from TD Garden is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET.
