- The Sabres scored four times in the opening 14:24 to seize control at TD Garden
- Peyton Krebs and Owen Power joined Danny Gare as the only Sabres with points in their first four career playoff games
- Read below for the full breakdown of Buffalo’s 6-1 Game 4 win, including video highlights and the Bruins’ brutal first period
Buffalo scored four goals in the first period and rolled to a 6-1 win over the Boston Bruins in Game 4 at TD Garden on Sunday, taking a 3-1 lead in the Eastern Conference First Round.
Peyton Krebs got things going just 4:17 in, finishing a quick feed from Alex Tuch off a Boston turnover. The Sabres had not scored a first-period goal in the series before that.
Josh Doan made it 2-0 at 7:10 with a redirect of a Ryan McLeod centering pass. His goal trickled in just as Viktor Arvidsson stepped out of the box, scratching Buffalo’s first power-play goal of the series on a technicality. The Sabres had been 0-for-14 on the man advantage through three games.
Zach Benson stripped the puck on a Boston breakout attempt and slid it five-hole at 9:15. Bowen Byram cashed his third goal in three games at 14:24, with Owen Power picking up another assist.
That assist made Power the only skater in Sabres history to record one in each of his first four career playoff games. Krebs joined him on the points side, and the two now share a four-game playoff run to open a career with franchise legend Danny Gare.
Beck Malenstyn made it 5-0 at 5:08 of the third. Alex Tuch chased Jeremy Swayman two minutes later on a feed from Tage Thompson, and Joonas Korpisalo handled mop-up duty in relief.
Swayman finished with six goals against on 29 shots. Alex Lyon went the other way for Buffalo with 23 saves before Sean Kuraly broke up the shutout shorthanded in the final minute.
Viktor Arvidsson left late in the first period with an upper-body injury and did not return. The Bruins now have to win three straight to stay alive, and they last gave up four-plus goals in a playoff first period back in 1991 against the Hartford Whalers.
Game 5 is Tuesday at KeyBank Center. Buffalo can punch its ticket to Round 2 at home, and the video below shows exactly how loud that building should be.
