Sabres at Bruins
The Boston Bruins are showing no signs of slowing down as they continue to inch closer to both first place in the Atlantic Division and the best overall record in the league. Winners of four straight and nine of their last 10 games, the rampaging Bruins host the Eastern Conference-worst Buffalo Sabres on Saturday night.
Boston has allowed five goals during the four-game winning streak after flattening the New York Rangers 6-1 on Wednesday to pull within three points of NHL-best Tampa Bay with two games in hand. “We’re trying to win every game that’s on the schedule in front of us,” coach Bruce Cassidy said. “If we catch (Tampa Bay) then great, and if they play great then that’s the way it goes. The Bruins have split two matchups with the Sabres this season, including a 5-4 overtime defeat at home on Oct. 21, but owns a nine-game point streak (8-0-1) in the series. Buffalo snapped a four-game skid with a 4-3 win over the New York Islanders in the finale of a five-game homestand, but it has won its last three away from home.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, MSG-Buffalo, NESN (Boston)
ABOUT THE SABRES (15-29-10): Jack Eichel scored one goal and set up another for the second straight game and has collected 18 points over his last 13 contests. Linemate Sam Reinhart also is on a roll, capping a three-point night with the game-winning goal against the Islanders to give him four tallies and nine assists over the past 10 games. "They're easy to play with," said new linemate Evan Rodrigues, who also had a goal and an assist as the line combined for seven points versus the Islanders.
ABOUT THE BRUINS (33-11-8): After getting a night off in the drubbing of the Rangers, Tuukka Rask puts his 21-start point streak on the line -- he is 19-0-2 with a 1.61 goals-against average and .941 save percentage since his last regulation defeat on Nov. 26. Patrice Bergeron scored twice against the Rangers to give him eight goals in his last nine games and 13 in 15 games since the start of the new year. Brad Marchand returned from a five-game suspension to collect an assist and run his point streak to six games.
OVERTIME
1. Buffalo is 11-for-33 on the power play over the past 10 games.
2. Rask is 13-5-1 with a 2.06 goals-against average versus the Sabres.
3. Eichel has three goals and four assists in nine games versus Boston, but also is a minus-7 in that span.