The Boston Bruins got their second win in the third game of the season on Friday night. Despite being outshot 36-26, the Bruins convincingly handled the Buffalo Sabres in a 4-1 victory.
One of the biggest factors in Boston’s victory was the former Sabres goaltender Linus Ullmark. Ullmark, who signed a four-year $20 million contract with the Bruins on July 28, looked magnificent in net against his former club. Ullmark saved 35-of-36 shots which yielded him a .972 save percentage. This performance was especially impressive given his subpar performance in the preseason. Ullmark’s .839 save percentage in the exhibition games left much to be desired. The Swedish netminder showed his talents when they mattered most in his first start. Ullmark’s performance got him the third star of the game.
David Pastrnak also got one of the stars of the game. Pastrnak registered a team-high six shots on goal and netted the first goal of the game less than five minutes into the contest. His goal was a one-timer and set the tone for the rest of the game.
Brad Marchand took the first star of the game due to his two assists. Marchand set up the Pastrnak goal by taking away the puck from Rasmus Dahlin and feeding it to the 25-year-old winger for the tally. Marchand’s other assist came on a one-timer as well. That time it was Charlie Coyle who snuck it under the blocker of Craig Anderson for a power play goal. That power play goal also happened to be the first that the Sabres had allowed all season. Marchand also tied for the team-high in hits with two and won his only faceoff attempt.
Another impressive performance turned out to be that of Coyle. Though he didn’t get a star of the game, he led the Bruins in points with one goal and two assists. Coyle also added two blocked shots in the win.
Taylor Hall, another former Sabre, played a good game as well. Though he got booed every time he touched the puck, he managed to record two points. Hall got a secondary assist on a Tomas Nosek goal and he capped off the win with an empty net goal. Hall stared down the Buffalo fans after his goal, but there weren’t too many in attendance since it was reported that the arena had 41% capacity.
The Bruins will play their next game Sunday against the San Jose Sharks at TD Garden, hoping to advance to 3-1-0.