The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Bruins extend Sabres skid to 17 straight losses
BOSTON — The Buffalo Sabres lost their 17th consecutive game on Saturday, twice blowing a one-goal lead before Craig Smith scored with 3:50 left to snap a third-period tie and give the Boston Bruins a 3-2 victory.
The Sabres have not won since Feb. 23, tying the 18th longest losing streak in NHL history. It was just the fifth time during that span that they have managed to come within one goal.
“There’s nothing to say about that now,” said Sabres goalie Linus Ullmark, who was activated Saturday after a month on injured reserve and made 33 saves. “You’ve got to go home, recharge and come back stronger for the next one.”
Matt Grzelcyk and Nick Ritchie each had a goal and an assist, and third-stringer Daniel Vladar stopped 25 shots for Boston, which beat Buffalo for the seventh time in a row. It was the Bruins’ first victory in front of their home fans since March, 2020; the state of Massachusetts opened large arenas to fans at 12% capacity as of Tuesday.
Sam Reinhart and Kyle Okposo scored for Buffalo, each time giving the Sabres the lead. But Boston came back twice and took its first lead of the game when Smith came up with the puck after a scramble and knocked in the game-winner.
The Sabres pulled the goalie in the final two minutes, but gave up the advantage when Rasmus Ristolainen was called for goalie interference with 25 seconds left.
“I did not feel a panic out of the players at all,” said interim Buffalo coach Don
Granato, who took over March 17 when Ralph Krueger was fired. “There was none of that. I didn’t feel like we tightened up. I didn’t feel the panic, but I didn’t feel enough assertive energy, I didn’t feel enough take-charge leadership.”
Ullmark, who was injured in the first game of the losing streak on Feb. 25, said he spent his time away trying not to think about his teammates’ struggles.
“There’s nothing that I can do to control it,” he said. “I got my mind off of it as much as possible. When you’re in it, you want to get in there and help the boys out. But I couldn’t.”
FLYERS 2, RANGERS 1
PHILADELPHIA — Sam Morin scored his first NHL goal with 4:27 left in the game to lead Philadelphia to a win over New York.
Nolan Patrick also scored for the Flyers, who badly needed to win a close one against the Rangers. The Rangers had combined to beat the Flyers 17-3 in their past two meetings.
The Flyers moved into fifth place ahead of the Rangers in the East Division at 16-13-4 — the top four teams qualify for the playoffs — with 23 games left in a shortened season.
Morin, the 11th overall pick in the 2013 draft, had never scored a point in 14 career NHL games. The Flyers moved Morin from defense to winger and back to defense again over an injury-plagued career.
Morin may have scored the goal of the season for the Flyers.
New York beat the Flyers 9-0 last week and again 8-3 on Thursday, scoring 15 straight goals over the two games.