Bruins Wrap: Boston’s Win Streak Ends With Surprising Loss To Sabres

The Boston Bruins fell short to the Buffalo Sabres in a 3-1 loss on Thursday night at TD Garden.

With the loss, the Bruins dropped to 17-5-3 while the Sabres improved to 11-14-2.

Check out the full box score here.

ONE BIG TAKEAWAY
Boston entered the night with history on its side, having gone 10-0-1 in its previous 11 matchups against the Sabres, but even that wasn’t enough to spark the necessary momentum to dodge the loser’s column.

This time, there weren’t any late-game theatrics and that’s only because the Bruins squandered their chances of knotting the game up with an even score.

Aside from a second-period goal from Brad Marchand, that kept Boston from enduring its first shutout loss of the season, the Bruins showed little to no life on that end of the ice — and that came back to haunt the B’s in the final frame.

Buffalo right winger Victor Olofsson delivered the nail-in-the-coffin goal, scoring on a 2-on-1 to give the Sabres a-goal lead and leave 8:44 minutes left for the Bruins to fight back — which they didn’t.

The Bruins went scoreless for the first and third periods, turning a three-game winning streak into a head-scratcher following a presumed favorable matchup against a below-.500 Sabres team.

In the end, Boston failed to match Bufallo’s intensity, and a price was paid.

STARS OF THE GAME
— Olofsson provided the deflating third-period blow to Boston, giving the Sabres some handy insurance toward their pursuit to the finish line.

— Marchand gave the Bruins a chance, cutting the score in half before the start of the third period with his 12th goal of the season.

— Sabres goalie Devon Levi held Boston scoreless for two periods, finishing the night with 27 saves.

WAGER WATCH
FanDuel Sportsbook set the odds of Marchand scoring at +130 entering the night. The 35-year-old cleared those odds before the end of the second period, getting Boston on the board. A $100 wager on Marchand scoring at any point in the contest would’ve netted a $230 total payout.

UP NEXT ON NESN
Boston next gets set to host the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday afternoon. Puck drop from TD Garden is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET, and you can catch the game, plus a full hour of pregame coverage, live on NESN.