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The Boston Bruins tied their first-round series against the Buffalo Sabres with a 4-2 victory in Game 2. Viktor Arvidsson scored two goals, and Jeremy Swayman made 32 saves to secure the win.
Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images
BUFFALO, NY â âThe series doesnât start until you win one on the road,â said Jeremy Swayman.
Itâs an old clichĂ©, but the Boston Bruins (1-1) evened their first-round series against the Buffalo Sabres (1-1) with a 4-2 win on Tuesday at KeyBank Center. Viktor Arvidsson (2) scored two goals, while Morgan Geekie (2) and Pavel Zacha (1) each helped the Bruins tie the series before heading home.
Jeremy Swayman made 32 saves in the win; he finished with 2.16 goals saved above expected in response to the Game 1 loss.
âWe thought that we had a really good chance last game to finish it out, too, so I think that we fixed a lot of great things and took positives and really stayed in the moment,â Swayman added. âThatâs the biggest thing for our group, is we left the past in the past and understood there was an opportunity tonight and seized it.â
Marco Sturm said he wanted more from his second line after an off-night during Game 1. He reiterated it again before Game 2, but said that he did not have to mention it to them.
The Bruins won Game 2 against the Sabres with a score of 4-2.
Viktor Arvidsson scored two goals, while Morgan Geekie and Pavel Zacha each contributed one goal.
Jeremy Swayman made 32 saves in the Bruins' Game 2 victory.
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Viktor Arvidsson said their line âalmost played too much defenseâ in Game 1, and said that they can do a better job of being aggressive.
He was, and with two goals on Tuesday, he now has 17 in his playoff career.
âI think we skated harder and battled a little bit harder,â Arvidsson said to reporters in Buffalo. âAnd had our heads over the puck, and won battles, and used each other in close areas. Thatâs how we need to play to be successful. And I think we came out with that mindset and had a pretty good game.â
They also got a power play goal from Pavel Zacha, which is his second career playoff goal. Zachaâs goal proved to be the game-winner.
But no goal was more strange than Morgan Geekieâs.
He lofted the puck from behind the red line at center ice, and it bounced right over Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and into the net. The goal gave the Bruins a 2-0 lead, and they made it 3-0 shortly after that.
âNo, I donât think I ever will [score that] again,â Morgan Geekie said about the goal. âHonestly, just tried to dump it in and got a lucky bounce, and itâs nice to see it go in.â
Luukkonenâs night was over after 40:16; he made 15 saves on 19 shots. Alex Lyon came in and immediately started chirping Tanner Jeannot. The Bruins did not beat Lyon, but didnât need to with a four-goal lead.
The third period ramped up in physicality, which has been present in this series since Marco Sturm called the Bruins the âbigger, stronger, and more physicalâ team.
Mark Kastelic and Logan Stanley broke away from a scrum and fought, while another scrum at the 6:14 mark accounted for 52 of the gameâs 94 penalty minutes. Nikita Zadorov, Andrew Peeke, Zach Benson, and Tage Thompson all received 10-minute misconducts.
The second scrum started because Benson poked at Jeremy Swayman. Zadorov stepped in and tossed him to the ice.
That was something he was raised on.
âWhen I grew up, all my coaches were telling me to protect my goalie. So when somebody slashes my goalie, thatâs my job to step in,â Zadorov said. âThey want to keep doing it, theyâre going to keep getting it. I mean, thatâs how it is.â
After Game 1, the Bruins talked about being a resilient team. They also talked about playing the way they wanted for 50 minutes; Sturm stayed true to his belief by not making any changes to the lineup.
âAgain, it wasnât terrible how we played in Game 1, but we knew that we needed to be just a little bit better,â Sturm said. âAnd the guys, yeah, the guys played great today. They played to our identity, letâs put it that way.â
âThat was Bruins hockey right from the start to finish, and thatâs why we got the two points here⊠or the big win.â
The Bruins started the series with a loss, but rallied for a road win to split the first two games in Buffalo. The series turns back to Boston for a game on Thursday night. With the series even at one, itâs now a best-of-five, and the Bruins have home ice.
The post Going Home Tied: Breaking Apart Bruinsâ Game 2 Win appeared first on Boston Hockey Now.