BUFFALO - On Saturday, in his debut as a Bruin, Alex Auld saw his defense choke off the Toronto attack. The Maple Leafs got off only 26 shots, with perhaps a third of those bona fide scoring chances.
Last night was far different.
The fast-moving Sabres, who put up a 7-spot on San Jose Saturday, had their skates whirring and their sticks blasting. Buffalo poured 45 shots on Auld, who responded by stopping all but one, leading the Bruins to a 4-1 victory before 18,302 at
"Thank God for Alex Auld tonight," said Marc Savard. "He was fantastic."
The Bruins also had Buffalo's sluggish legs at the start to thank. The Sabres had traveled from California late Saturday, and before last night's game, coach Lindy Ruff expressed concern about his team's energy level in the early minutes.
Ruff turned out to be correct. After only 7:13 of play, the Bruins had a 2-0 lead, scoring on two of their first three shots on goalie Ryan Miller. And as much pressure as the Sabres applied on Auld later in the game, the early deficit was too steep to overcome.
"That helped us," said Mark Stuart. "We came out with a good start and got the lead. We knew they had been on the road, so we just wanted to come out quick."
Savard put the Bruins on the board first. The No. 1 line rolled out a near-perfect forecheck, as Glen Murray steered defenseman Toni Lydman to one side. As Lydman carried the puck toward the wall, P.J. Axelsson came down along the boards, cutting off any seam that might have existed.
At the same time, Savard clogged up the middle and filled a passing lane that Lydman might have chosen. Lydman did just that, sending an ill-advised diagonal pass through center ice for Tim Connolly that Savard picked off. As quickly as Savard gained control of the puck, the center was just as swift to release a shot that eluded Miller at 6:29.
Forty-four seconds later, Savard's line struck again. The puck went back to Dennis Wideman in the Boston zone, prompting Ruff to call for a line change. When Wideman saw the Sabres going off, the defenseman sent a quick pass up ice to Savard, who kicked off an odd-man rush. Axelsson made himself available in the slot for Savard's dish, collecting the puck and winging it past Miller (three first-period saves, 17 total) to give his club a 2-0 lead.
But the Sabres eventually emerged from their doldrums. With Andrew Alberts off for hooking at 14:15 of the first, Buffalo netted a power-play goal to halve Boston's lead. Auld stopped a point one-timer by Ales Kotalik, but the rebound dribbled into the slot. Aaron Ward couldn't clear the puck, allowing a pinching Jaroslav Spacek to sweep a shot into the net at 16:01.
