Coyle scores twice, Bruins end 4-game skid with win against Sabres

BUFFALO – Charlie Coyle scored two goals, and the Boston Bruins ended a four-game losing streak with a 4-1 win against the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center on Wednesday.

Brad Marchand and Jake DeBrusk each had two assists for the Bruins (20-7-6). Jeremy Swayman made 26 saves.

“Anytime you can win, it always helps,” DeBrusk said. “I think that means there’s lots of things that we’re doing right, and as a group, we didn’t like how we [went into] the break. Had a couple days to reset and came out with a good effort tonight, had some good goaltending and just rolled with it.”

Erik Johnson scored, and Devon Levi made 21 saves for the Sabres (14-18-4), who have lost four of five (1-3-1).

“Special teams, we gave up three goals on the penalty kill, didn’t convert on the power play, even 5-on-5,” Johnson said. “Bottom line, special teams, Achilles’ heel for us tonight.”

Forward Tage Thompson was a late scratch for personal reasons.

“I think it’s going to be just for today,” Buffalo coach Don Granato said of his absence.

Mason Lohrei gave Boston a 1-0 lead at 4:19 of the first period, converting a rebound off the right pad of Levi in front.

Coyle made it 2-0 with a power-play goal at 13:42, scoring on a one-timer from the slot off a pass by DeBrusk from behind the net.

“We always want to get out to a lead if you can, and then it’s up to us to push that lead, build on our game, play the right way,” Coyle said. “We had to get that one back. To be a good team, there’s going to be little lapses, right? But it’s up to us. If they have a good shift, that next line comes out. … We’ve just got to keep building on our game.”

The Sabres have allowed 48 goals in the first period this season, the most in the NHL.

“It’s something now that you mentally have to get over and move on,” Granato said. “You’ve got to move on fast. … You can’t have drag from what you didn’t do or didn’t get done, and that obviously is a challenge that you’ve got to move on quick.”

Coyle scored his second straight power-play goal when his pass attempt deflected in off the skate of Johnson to push the Bruins’ lead to 3-0 at 4:18 of the second period.

Morgan Geekie made it 4-0 at 13:44 when he collected a rebound off the end boards and banked the puck off a diving Levi from below the goal line.

Boston was 3-for-4 on the power play. Buffalo was 0-for-6.

“We’re overthinking everything,” Sabres forward Alex Tuch said. “We’re double touching pucks. I’m double touching on the goal line, putting them out of guys’ reach, shooting when we shouldn’t. We’re not shooting when we should.

“We’re passing up good opportunities, we’re not supporting each other. It just kind of adds up. It’s a snowball effect, and each guy has to look at one another and try to work for one another, because it’s five against four. I mean, we shouldn’t be out there and getting outchanced. … It’s confidence, it’s swagger. We obviously don’t have it right now, and we’re going to work to get it back.”

Johnson cut it to 4-1 at 5:11 of the third period with a slap shot from the right circle.

“The thing is, coming back after the (holiday) break, three days off, it's not going to be a real clean game,” Boston coach Jim Montgomery said. “We had moments where we struggled with getting back into it, too, but overall, it was a pretty good hockey game by us.”