Boston and Buffalo last met in the playoffs in 2010, with the sixth-seeded Bruins besting the third-seeded Sabres in six games in the first round.
Boston went 3-1-0 against the Sabres during the regular season, outscoring Buffalo by a slim 12-11 margin.
As the Bruins brace for playoff hockey, here are four things to know about their first-round opponent:
They’ve been one of the hottest teams in the NHL for months
The Sabres went 39-9-4 after starting the season 11-14-4.
After spending years mired near the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings, the Sabres seemingly put it all together behind a promising young roster anchored by franchise stalwarts in Rasmus Dahlin, Tage Thompson, Mattias Samuelsson, and others.
Buffalo boasts a balanced roster — with 14 players recording at least 25 points.
Thompson lit the lamp 40 times as Buffalo’s go-to triggerman, while Dahlin has been as advertised as a do-it-all, franchise blue liner — posting 74 points in 77 games while averaging 24:11 of ice time.
For their efforts, the Sabres snapped the longest playoff drought in the NHL earlier this month — punching their first ticket to the postseason since 2011.
During those 14 years between playoff appearances, the Sabres went through five general managers, seven head coaches, had the first-overall pick in the NHL Draft twice (Dahlin, Owen Power), and also picked second another two times (Jack Eichel, Sam Reinhart).
They’re not experienced on the postseason stage
Of course, that prolonged stretch of futility also means that the Sabres are sailing into uncharted waters when it comes to being battle-tested for the postseason.
Just 12 players on Buffalo’s current roster have appeared in a playoff game, with a few key cogs like Dahlin, Thompson, Samuelsson, Josh Norris, Josh Doan, and Jack Quinn among those who have not had a taste of the postseason to this point.
Granted, the Bruins have several newcomers and younger faces on their roster, like Fraser Minten and James Hagens, set to make their playoff debuts this spring.
But Boston’s top stars, David Pastrnak and Charlie McAvoy, also have a combined 181 games of postseason appearances.
In net, Jeremy Swayman’s last foray into playoff hockey saw him post a .933 save percentage across 12 games during the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
That lack of experience could either help or hurt a young Sabres roster in their first trip to the playoffs in more than a decade. But Pastrnak stressed that postseason mettle offers no guarantee of success.
“It’s up to us to use it to our advantage,” said Pastrnak. “In the playoffs, you can have as much experience and as much [of an] advantage as you can — but all that matters is how you challenge and how you do it.”
Buffalo’s special teams have been a mixed bag
Buffalo currently ranks fifth in the NHL in goals scored per game (3.46) and 11th in goals allowed per game (2.93). At 5-on-5 play, only the Avalanche, Penguins, and Lightning have tallied more goals than the Sabres’ 192.
As feared as Thompson’s blistering one-timer might be, the Sabres also dole out plenty of damage via their dynamic blue line. Only the Blue Jackets have generated more goals from their defensemen (58) than the Sabres (55). For those keeping track, Boston only has 36 goals off the stick of a D-man this season.
But as dynamic as Buffalo’s offense has been, its power play has largely been pedestrian — ranking 19th in the NHL at 19.8 percent.
Much like Boston’s ailing power play, the Sabres’ man advantage has also faltered down the stretch — cashing in on just 15.9 percent over their last 15 games.
A sputtering Sabres power play would be a welcome sight for a Bruins team prone to taking trips to the sin bin, with Boston second in the league in penalty minutes per game at 11.9.
But if the Bruins are hoping to get their own power play back on track, the Sabres might be a daunting matchup for Steve Spott and Co.
Buffalo ranks fourth in the NHL in penalty-kill percentage (82.1), while only the Carolina Hurricanes and Flames have more shorthand tallies than the Sabres (10).
Bruins should have the edge in net
The Sabres might have momentum, home-ice advantage, and a deeper roster on their side going into this postseason.
That might all be moot if Jeremy Swayman puts on an encore of his 2024 playoff run.
The Bruins’ netminder helped Boston topple a stout Maple Leafs team in a seven-game series that spring before giving the eventual Stanley Cup champion Panthers some fits in the second round.
Swayman’s 2024 playoff run might have ended after two rounds. But his 13.3 goals saved above expected still led all goalies during that postseason (per MoneyPuck).
After a disastrous season in 2024-25, Swayman has once again regained his form, ranking second among all qualified NHL netminders with a whopping 28.8 goals saved above expected this year.
Buffalo doesn’t exactly have that same stability between the pipes.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Buffalo’s likely Game 1 starter, has had a very good season (.910 save percentage over 35 games).
But Luukkonen has never appeared in a playoff game, while his goals saved above expected rate of 10.5 is 13 spots below Swayman.
The 27-year-old goalie has only allowed more than three goals once in his last 10 appearances. The one outlier? March 25, when the Bruins scored four times off 31 shots in a comeback win at KeyBank Center.
If Luukkonen can’t cut it, the next man up might be Alex Lyon — but the veteran is currently dealing with a lower-body injury that he suffered during practice, which could put his availability in question at the start of this series.
Lyon’s injury complicates matters for Buffalo, which also has rookie Colten Ellis on its roster as a third goalie.
Conor Ryan can be reached at conor.ryan@globe.com.
