Sabres vs. Bruins Game 3: Key takeaways from Buffalo taking 2-1 series lead

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They needed a dramatic third-period comeback to pull off a 4-3 win in Game 1. Then the Sabres were thoroughly outplayed in Game 2 on their way to a 4-2 loss. They entered Game 3 with questions about who their goalie would be and how they would figure out how to solve Boston’s stingy defensive structure. Lindy Ruff made three lineup changes, swapping Lyon in for Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, having Noah Östlund replace the injured Josh Norris and putting Tyson Kozak on the fourth line in place of Josh Dunne. And despite some positive results from those changes, this game was still a grind. But after falling behind 1-0, the Sabres got goals from Bowen Byram, Alex Tuch and Östlund to beat the Bruins 3-1 and take a 2-1 series lead. For the third straight game, the Sabres allowed the first goal. The Sabres also continued their power-play slump and have now gone 35 straight power plays without scoring, dating back to the regular season. And Buffalo took four minor penalties, including two in the third period, and gave the Bruins a penalty shot. But none of that mattered in this game, because two of their most experienced players came through when it mattered. Byram’s goal in the second period tied the game. And then early in the third period, Tuch got the puck on his stick in between the face-off circles and had all the time he needed to rip a shot right by the glove hand of Bruins star goalie Jeremy Swayman to put the Sabres up 2-1. Östlund added the empty-netter to give the Sabres the 3-1 lead. Nothing about this series has been easy for the Sabres, but they now have a 2-1 series lead and two days between games to prepare for Game 4 on Sunday afternoon. Lyon made his first start of the playoffs, and the veteran looked locked in right away. Lyon stopped all nine shots he faced in the first period, and four of them were high-danger shots, according to Natural Stat Trick. In the opening minutes of the game, Tuch turned a puck over, and Lyon had to come up with a big save. Then later in the period, Lyon was the Sabres’ best penalty killer, making two clutch saves, including one on a Pavel Zacha redirect in front of the net. Jeannot scored in the second period when he put a shot right by Lyon’s blocker while Buffalo defenseman Conor Timmins was blocking Lyon’s vision. But moments later, Lyon came back and made a tough save on David Pastrnak. After Luukkonen looked shaky early in this series, Lyon helped settle things down at the most important position. With Swayman locked in at the other end, Lyon needed to be sharp, and he was. Goaltending is Boston’s biggest advantage in this series. Maybe Lyon can narrow the gap. Viktor Arvidsson had a great second-period chance to give the Bruins a 2-0 lead. The right wing was given a penalty shot after he was tripped by Rasmus Dahlin. Arvidsson tried to go high blocker on Lyon. But his shot went wide of the net. Arvidsson did not have a penalty shot in the regular season. He was 2 for 3 in the shootout. Östlund made his playoff debut in Game 3, and his impact was obvious right away. The 22-year-old rookie is already one of Buffalo’s best playmakers, and he showed that on the Sabres’ first goal. He gained the zone with speed, carried the puck into the corner and threaded a perfect pass to Byram, who beat Swayman on a one-timer. Östlund was all over the ice in the first period, too, making the subtle plays in small areas to make the Sabres’ zone entries smoother and establish more offensive zone time. And then in the third period, Östlund won a race to a loose puck to get the empty net goal to help the Sabres finish off the win. There’s a Dahlin said of Ostlund before the game, “He’s a special guy. He comes in as a rookie and looks like he’s been playing in this league forever. He’s so smart defensively and offensively. When you watch him play, it doesn’t look like he makes a mistake out there. He just does everything right, it looks like.” Earlier in the season, the Sabres weren’t able to withstand the loss of Norris in the middle of their lineup. But Östlund came in after missing a month with an injury and looked like he was an upgrade over Norris on the line with Zach Benson and Josh Doan. He rose to the occasion in Buffalo’s 8-7 win over Tampa Bay late in the regular season and seems equipped to handle the pressure of playoff hockey. “I always want to have the puck as much as possible,” Östlund said before the playoffs. “But in those games you have to be smart and read the game a little bit more, and that’s something I feel I’m good at.” Of the Sabres who have been in the lineup in this series, Byram is the only one with a Stanley Cup ring. And it has shown. He scored his second goal of the series on Thursday on that setup from Östlund and later kept a play alive to get a goal on Tuch’s goal. While Dahlin and Owen Power have failed to make much of an offensive impact through three games, Byram is finding a way to get involved in the offensive zone and finish the chances that he’s getting. He’s been unafraid to pinch in and put pressure on the Bruins in the offensive zone, and he’s shown poise with the puck. He’s only 24, but Byram is looking like one of Buffalo’s most important players so far this postseason. Tanner Jeannot and Mark Kastelic are better known for their gloves-off business. Their willingness to fight Erik Gudbranson and Mathieu Olivier was critical in helping the Bruins score a come-from-behind regular-season win over the Columbus Blue Jackets. The fourth-liners applied their skill in the second period for the Bruins’ first goal. After Jeannot took a clearing pass from Charlie McAvoy, Kastelic ran interference on Timmins. By engaging Timmins briefly, Kastelic gave Jeannot time to load up his snap shot. Timmins tried to shake off Kastelic’s check to get in front of Jeannot’s shot. But Timmins ended up screening Lyon instead. The goalie didn’t see Jeannot’s release through Timmins’ screen. Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms