National Hockey League
Boston 3, Buffalo 2
When: 7:00 PM ET, Saturday, December 29, 2018
Where: KeyBank Center, Buffalo, New York
Referees: Steve Kozari, Kyle Rehman
Linesmen: Scott Cherrey, Mark Shewchyk
Attendance: 19070

Sean Kuraly scored on a rebound of his own shot with 1:16 remaining in overtime to give the visiting Boston Bruins a 3-2 victory over the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday night.

Kuraly broke in from the left side and then fired a wrist shot from the top of the circle that Carter Hutton made a pad save on. However, the rebound bounced in front of the goal, where the charging Kuraly tapped it in for the game-winner.

Jake DeBrusk and Noel Acciari also scored goals for Boston, which snapped a two-game losing streak. Tuukka Rask finished with 26 saves for the Bruins, who improved to 9-1-1 in their last 11 games in Buffalo.

Marco Scandella had a goal and an assist and Johan Larsson had a short-handed goal for Buffalo. Hutton stopped 39 shots while losing for just the second time (7-2-1) in his last 10 home starts.

Scandella gave the Sabres a 1-0 lead at the 4:40 mark of the first period when he put in a rebound of a Jeff Skinner backhand shot past a sprawling Rask for his second goal of the season.

Acciari tied it five minutes later when he pounced on a loose puck in front of the blue line and fired a shot that caromed into the left side of the net off the left knee of Buffalo defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen.

Larsson then gave the Sabres a 2-1 lead early in the second period with his fourth goal of the season, finishing a two-on-one with Evan Rodrigues and beating Rask to his blocker side. The score came while Jack Eichel was serving a double-minor for high-sticking Zdeno Chara, and marked the eighth short-handed goal allowed this season by the Bruins, tied with Pittsburgh for the most in the NHL.

The Bruins tied it with 2:29 to go in the third period on DeBrusk's power play goal on a redirect of a wrist shot from the top of the slot by Torey Krug, setting the stage for Kuraly's game-winner.

Boston now heads to South Bend, Ind., where it will play the Chicago Blackhawks on New Year's Day in the NHL Winter Classic at Notre Dame Stadium.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Boston   Buffalo
Noel Acciari 1 Points Marco Scandella 2
Noel Acciari 1 Goals Marco Scandella 1
Matt Grzelcyk 1 Assists Marco Scandella 1
Jake DeBrusk 1 Power Play Goals N/A
N/A Short Handed Goals Johan Larsson 1
Tuukka Rask .929 Save Percentage Carter Hutton .929
Tuukka Rask 26 Saves Carter Hutton 39
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Boston 42 3 1-4 3-3 6 27
Buffalo 28 2 0-3 3-4 8 24
Upcoming Games
  • Buffalo will play their next game at home against NY Islanders. The Sabres have a W/L % of .591 after a win and .471 after a loss.
  • Boston will play their next game on the road against Chicago. The Bruins have a W/L % of .500 after a win and .579 after a loss.