Bruins Wrap: Special Teams Lift Boston, Snap Four-Game Winless Skid

In the first game coming out of the mandatory holiday break in the NHL, the Boston Bruins snapped a four-game winless skid by defeating the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center on Wednesday night.

The Bruins scored three power-play goals in the first two periods to take down the Sabres, 4-1, in the final matchup of the two clubs this season. Boston won the season series 2-1-0 by outscoring the Sabres 10-6 in the three games.

With the win, the Bruins improved to 20-7-6 on the season and 5-3-3 in the month of December, while the Sabres fell to 14-18-4 on the campaign.

Check out the full box score here.

ONE BIG TAKEAWAY
Special teams were a huge factor in the win for Boston. Not only did the Bruins capitalize on three of four power play opportunities, but the penalty-killing units blanked the Sabres on all six attempts in the game.

Brad Marchand earned a two-minute minor for cross-checking in the opening frame of the game, and when the Bruins captain barked at the officials about the call, he was tagged for an additional two minutes for unsportsmanlike conduct.

The Sabres should have gained momentum on the four-minute double minor, but instead, the Bruins penalty killers went to work and tilted the ice when Mason Lohrei notched his third goal of the season less than a minute after the penalty expired.

The Bruins are 109 for 126 when their opponents have the man advantage this season.

STARS OF THE GAME
— Charlie Coyle lit the lamp twice, both on the power play for the first time in his career, in the Bruins win. The Weymouth, Mass. native now has 12 goals on the season.

— Lohrei opened the scoring for the Bruins when collected the loose puck in front of the net when Devon Levi left the James van Riemsdyk rebound unprotected in the slot.

— Charlie McAvoy logged 23:26 minutes over 28 shifts. The New York native recorded an assist in the game and made a stick save behind Jeremy Swayman to keep the Sabres scoreless in the second period.

WAGER WATCH
FanDuel Sportsbook set the odds of Coyle potting two or more goals in the game at +2900. The Bruins center cleared those odds with two power-play goals in the tilt. A $100 wager placed on Coyle would have netted a solid $3,900 payout.

UP NEXT
The Bruins return home for a matchup with the New Jersey Devils on Saturday night. Puck drop from TD Garden is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET, and you can catch all the action, plus an hour of pregame coverage, on NESN.