Boston Bruins bounce back, even series with Game 2 victory - ESPN

BUFFALO, N.Y. — It wasn't quite a Picasso by Boston, in the end.

But the Bruins got the job done Tuesday in a 4-2 victory over the Buffalo Sabres, tying their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series at 1-1.

Game 3 is in Boston on Thursday.

The Bruins, who let a two-goal lead slip late in Game 1 Sunday, stormed ahead in Game 2 with four goals in the first 41 minutes. Viktor Arvidsson scored two, Pavel Zacha another, and Morgan Geekie added his second of the postseason to keep the crowd quiet.

«That goal, when you start on the road, is to get one of two,» Geekie said. «We gave ourselves a chance to win both, and unfortunately let the first one slip away, and we learned from that. It's huge… and super important to get one and go back home to play in front of our fans.»

Goaltender Jeremy Swayman bounced back for Boston with 34 saves. He posted two scoreless periods in Game 2, adding to his total of four for the series.

«The series doesn't start until you win one on the road. And that's important for us,» Swayman said. «We thought we had a really good chance to finish it out last game, too. So, I think that we fixed a lot of great things and took positives and really stayed in the moment. That's the biggest thing for our group.»

Bruins coach Marco Sturm didn't make any lineup changes for Game 2, convinced that his squad was prepared to bounce back.

«They played their way. They played to our identity,» Sturm said. «Let's put it that way. That was Bruins hockey from start to finish and why we put them away. We played more physical. That's something they wanted to do and get better on our forecheck, but also protecting a little bit more… and be a bit more aggressive.»

It looked as if that aggressiveness would lead to an