Sabres Storm Back with Four-Goal Third, Take Game 1 Over Bruins

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Playoff hockey returned to Buffalo in dramatic fashion Sunday night, and the Buffalo Sabres delivered a moment that won’t soon be forgotten.

Trailing by two goals in the third period, the Sabres erupted for four unanswered goals in a span of under seven minutes to stun the Boston Bruins 4–2 in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference First Round series at KeyBank Center.

It marked one of the most remarkable comebacks in franchise playoff history — just the second time Buffalo has overcome a third-period deficit of two or more goals in the postseason, and the first since the iconic 1993 “May Day” game.

For much of the night, it looked like Boston had control.

The Bruins struck first late in the opening period when Morgan Geekie buried a one-timer to give Boston a 1–0 lead. From there, Buffalo pushed, but couldn’t solve goaltender Jeremy Swayman, who turned aside wave after wave of chances through two periods.

The Sabres dictated large stretches of play, outshooting Boston 26–13 through 40 minutes, but went into the third period still searching for a breakthrough.

Instead, the deficit grew.

Just over a minute into the third, Elias Lindholm slipped one through Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen to make it 2–0, quieting the sellout crowd and putting Buffalo on the brink.

What followed was a complete swing.

Tage Thompson ignited the comeback with a goal at 12:02, sneaking a shot around the post to finally beat Swayman. Minutes later, he struck again, tying the game at 2–2 and sending the building into a frenzy.

Thompson finished with two goals and an assist in his Stanley Cup Playoff debut, becoming the first Sabres forward since 2007 to record a three-point postseason game.

Buffalo wasn’t done.

At 16:36, Mattias Samuelsson jumped into the play and buried the go-ahead goal — the first playoff goal by a Sabres defenseman since 2011 — to complete the comeback and give Buffalo its first lead of the night.

Moments later, Alex Tuch sealed it with an empty-net, finishing off a 4–3 victory and a four-goal third period that came in just 6:46 — the third-fastest four-goal stretch in Sabres playoff history.

Buffalo outshot Boston 38–20 on the night and controlled much of the pace at even strength, but struggled on special teams, going 0-for-4 on the power play. The Sabres’ penalty kill, however, held strong, killing off two of three Bruins opportunities.

Luukkonen finished with 17 saves to earn the win in his first career playoff start, becoming the first Sabres goaltender to do so since Ryan Miller in 2006.

The victory gives Buffalo a 1–0 lead in the series and sends a message in its first playoff appearance in 14 years — this group is more than ready for the moment.

Game 2 is set for Tuesday night back at KeyBank Center at 7:30 PM EST.