Sabres shut out by Bruins in road finale

BOSTON - Patrice Bergeron scored a pair of second-period goals for the Boston Bruins, swinging momentum away from the Sabres in a 5-0 loss inside TD Garden on Thursday.
Bergeron finished with a hat trick for the Bruins. Linus Ullmark made 37 saves for the shutout.
The Sabres entered the contest - their last road game of the season - on a four-game winning streak.

"I thought we played real well in the first, and then we didn't look like ourselves in the second and third at all," Sabres coach Don Granato said. "I don't know if it was an energy thing or what it was. But the game slipped away at that point."

The Sabres earned a 26-9 edge in shot attempts during the first period, fueled in part by two power plays. Tage Thompson nearly opened the scoring with a shot that was stopped from crossing the goal line by Bruins defenseman Brandon Carlo.
Instead, it was Bergeron who struck first, winning the puck on the forecheck in the Buffalo zone and finishing a scramble in front of the net. He added his second goal on a one-time shot from the slot.
"I think that was the turning point of the game," Rasmus Asplund, who had four shots, said. "I thought we came out really, really good in the first period and we looked like ourselves. They got those two goals and I think we started to hesitate a little bit and be on our heels instead of our toes."

David Pastrnak and Taylor Hall added power-play goals during the third period. Bergeron finished his hat trick with 2:13 remaining.
The Sabres finished the night 0-for-3 on the power play. The Bruins went 2-for-6.
"I think it was honestly a pretty even game," Dylan Cozens said. "We had opportunities, we had lots of shots. They just found a way to put it in the back of the net and we didn't. They scored on their power play, and we didn't.
"So, there's areas to improve in every way and there's definitely things we could have done better in that game. But it's a frustrating one to lose."

Up next

The season concludes on Friday with a matchup against the Chicago Blackhawks at KeyBank Center. The first 10,000 fans in attendance will receive T-shirts commemorating Rick Jeanneret's final broadcast. Fans can listen to RJ call the game inside the arena using the Mixhalo app.
"I heard it's almost sold out too, so it's gonna be a great atmosphere," Asplund said. "Just take everything in and finish it off with a W for the fans."
Limited tickets are still available here.
Coverage on MSG begins at 6:30 p.m. The puck drops at 7.