Unfortunately for the Bruins, their playoff run ended on their home ice Friday night with a 4-1 defeat to the Buffalo Sabres in Game 6 of their first-round series.
After a exciting 2-1 overtime road victory in Game 5 on Tuesday, Boston was unable to force Game 7.
The Bruins never led in Game 6, falling two goals behind in the first quarter. After scoring the game-winning goal on Tuesday, David Pastrnak scored their only goal of the game in the second period, bringing the deficit to one with his third goal of the series.
However, Boston could only muster a total of one goal against Alex Lyon, who stopped 25 of 26 shots. The Sabres scored two insurance goals in the third quarter, sealing the game and dashed the Bruins’ prospects of a comeback.
Despite having a 29-11-1 regular-season record at TD Garden and being one of the NHL’s top home teams, Boston dropped all three of their home games during the series.
After a strong start to the series in Buffalo, the Bruins struggled to create any offense, scoring only five goals in their previous four games and being outscored 20-12 overall.
This is Boston’s third first-round defeat in the last five years, and the team has dropped five of its previous six postseason series. In the following round, the Sabres will meet the victor of Game 7 between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Montreal Canadiens.
