Sabres rally – Buffalo erased a two-goal deficit late with two quick Thompson goals and an empty-net finish from Tuch to beat Boston 4-3 in the playoff opener.
Buffalo’s long-awaited playoff return didn’t start quietly. In a Game 1 that flipped completely in the final minutes, the Sabres rallied from a two-goal hole to beat the Boston Bruins 4-3, turning pressure into momentum when it mattered most.
The focus quickly became the final eight minutes. and Mattias Samuelson provided the finishing touch with 3:24 remaining to put Buffalo ahead.. Tage Thompson tied the game with a pair of goals just 3:42 apart. a stretch that stunned Boston and forced a late-game reset from a Bruins team that looked ready to control the series early.
Alex Tuch then sealed it by scoring into the empty net with 1:12 left. finishing a sequence that nearly swung the arena into chaos.. With the game still in the balance. Buffalo’s ability to keep Boston from getting a clean save-and-reset moment became the difference. especially after Boston’s comeback urgency grew with every possession.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made the defensive posture hold up, stopping 17 shots as the Sabres climbed back into the contest.. The late turnaround wouldn’t have mattered if Buffalo had continued to bleed chances after falling behind. but Luukkonen stayed steady long enough for Thompson’s scoring burst to land the decisive blows.
Boston didn’t go silent, either.. David Pastrnak struck with seven seconds remaining and added two assists. underlining how dangerous the Bruins can be even when the clock is against them.. Morgan Geekie and Elias Lindholm also scored for Boston. and the Bruins’ ability to respond—at least once—kept the playoff opener from ever feeling fully settled.
For the Bruins. the margin is going to feel razor-thin: they entered the game with the advantage of a strong late-game habit. yet Buffalo’s late surge forced Boston into one last defensive emergency that ended with the empty-net goal.. Jeremy Swayman made 34 saves. and even with that workload. the Bruins ultimately couldn’t manufacture enough finishing touches to withstand Buffalo’s late shift.
That “late shift” is exactly what makes this opener so important for the series.. Best-of-seven hockey turns on momentum. but it also turns on timing—when your team decides to play faster. closer. and more directly.. Buffalo’s two-goal deficit didn’t just disappear; it was erased through a concentrated window where Thompson found the timing and the lanes. and the rest of the roster followed with supportive pressure.
There’s also a bigger story underneath the scoreboard: Buffalo is back in the playoffs after a long wait. and this result carries emotional weight beyond the two points.. The Sabres snapped an NHL-record 14-season playoff drought and earned their first playoff home win in years. a reminder that rebuilding phases often produce their true tests not in regular season games. but in nights like this—when experience is still catching up and belief is carrying part of the load.
Next, the series moves immediately into Game 2 on Tuesday night with Buffalo hosting.. The Sabres will want to keep the tempo that made Boston uncomfortable. while Boston will look at the final stretch and ask how a lead can slip so quickly when the game narrows.. If this opener is any indication. the rest of the matchup may come down to which team can repeat the right moments on time—because in this one. Buffalo timed them perfectly.
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