B's Fall Behind Early Again in Loss to Buffalo

BUFFALO- After months of sustained excellence, the Bruins lost back-to-back games for the first time since a pair of losses on Dec. 14 and Dec. 16.
The Sabres used an effective power play to halt the B's. While they were only officially credited with one power play goal, the Sabres added two more in the ensuing seconds after Bruins penalties had expired.

"[The penalty kill] has been better," said Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy. "[The Buffalo Sabres] scored a couple times - I think guys were coming out of the box. Some of that I think is just our clears. We won some face-offs there late and some of it is structure, some of it is will. I wish I had a great technical answer for you, but right now it's costing us."
In the first period, Brad Marchand was whistled for a slashing penalty with 7:45 left. Just nine seconds after the penalty expired, the Sabres were able to use their continued possession to score the first goal of the game.
The Sabres would add another power play goal later in the first period, as Kyle Okposo rifled a shot from the half-wall over the left shoulder of Khudobin.
Early in the third period and facing a 3-1 deficit, the Bruins found themselves again down a man when Kevan Miller was called for tripping. Six seconds after Miller exited the box, Marco Scandella collected the puck on the half-wall and surprised Khudobin with a shot that gave the Sabres a 4-1 advantage.
"It's normally dominant," said Bruins forward David Backes of the Bruins penalty kill. "Teams don't get set up and if they do, they are one shot and done.
"Today they were occupying the O-zone for extended periods of time and normally that gives us momentum when we kind of crush their spirt a little on the power play. But today it was more of a boost for them and they rolled and were able to get a couple right after power plays expired."

Nash's Debut

Despite the result, Rick Nash provided some of what the Bruins brass had hoped for when they acquired him early Sunday morning. In 17:11 time on ice, Nash recorded a team-high five shots on goal. The 6-foot-4 winger used his big frame to protect the puck and created a number of chances, including when he rang a puck of the cross bar in the second period just seconds before drawing a holding penalty.
"He was good," said Cassidy. "He did as advertised to me. He wins pucks, he got to the net, he got his shot off. He's strong on it. He'll be a welcome addition for us…I know he didn't see the best Boston Bruins team, I think he's aware of that. But he was good."
Nash, who arrived at the rink just over two hours prior to puck drop, said he felt comfortable wearing the spoked-B despite the quick turnaround.
"I felt pretty good," said Nash. "I had my legs. It was my first game in a week so a bit nervous about how I would feel. "
Nash noted that he still has some learning to do to familiarize himself with Bruce Cassidy's system.
"A few times I could see myself kind of overthinking the system. It's tough, a totally different system.
"It's going to take a couple games to get in sync with everything that has been going on. It's tough when you've played a system for so long to mentally turn it over to totally switch neutral zone forecheck, D-zone, O-zone."
Despite the unfamiliarity with the Bruins x's and o's, Nash was excited to see game action for the first time in over a week.
"It was great," said Nash. "It was all I wanted to do. It's been definitely a couple of strange days not being able to play. Back at it, that's behind us, and happy to be a Bruin."
Nash and Krejci displayed some chemistry throughout the night, as the duo teamed up to create some tense moments for the Sabres defense.
"He's a world-class player," said Nash of his new center Krejci. "He sees the ice so well and his defensive game is strong too. He was fun to play with for one night so far."
Krejci likewise praised the skilled Nash.
"He's a great player," said Krejci. "He's got size, he's got speed, he's got a great shot. He works hard, he plays on both ends of the ice. I'm obviously excited to play with him. Getting practice is going to be good."

Wrapping the Road Trip

The game against the Sabres concluded the Bruins five game trek that saw them visit Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton and Toronto before Sunday's contest in Buffalo. After falling behind in four of the five games on the trip, members of the Bruins preached the need for consistency.
"We had things going our well pretty well," said Cassidy on the team's previous string of success. "So now it's a bit of adversity. That's not necessarily always a bad thing either. We went through it at the start of the year. I think it made us a better hockey club for that stretch. We're going through it a bit of it now and the hope is it will make us a better hockey club at some point down the road."
Veteran leader David Backes emphasized that the team needs to begin getting in a postseason mindset.
"We should be starting to be in playoff mode now," said Backes. "You can't just flip a switch once the regular season is over and all of a sudden play a certain way. I think when we play our tight checking good puck management game, it's tough for anybody to beat us."

McAvoy Scores

Charlie McAvoy recorded his 6th goal of the season, which was set up by David Pastrnak after he made a strong move to escape the corner. McAvoy's six goals are tied for second among all rookie defenseman with Ryan Pulock of the Islanders, and behind only Tampa blue-liner Mikhail Sergachev (8).