3 Takeaways from the Sabres’ 4-3 Game 1 Win Over the Bruins – The Hockey Writers – Buffalo Sabres

We’ve finally arrived. After 15 years, the Buffalo Sabres are not only in the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs but hosted Game 1 as the Atlantic Division champions. Depending on who you ask, expectations are all over the place in terms of how far the Sabres can go.

For nearly two and a half periods, it looked like the story would come to an unsatisfactory conclusion. But in the space of 6:46, the Sabres erased all the doubts and walked away with an absolutely electric 4-3 victory in Game 1.

Certified TNT

The story of the game will and should be Tage Thompson. With the home crowd deflated and a 2-0 deficit staring them down, it would have been easy for the Sabres to roll over, pack it in, and look ahead to Game 2 but Thompson would not allow it.

He got the Sabres on the board with a nifty wrap-around to cut the lead to one and again found himself with an opportunity right in front of the net to tie the game just under four minutes later.

Thompson got both the team and the crowd back into it, setting the stage for Mattias Samuelsson’s go-ahead goal just :52 later. Thompson has taken his game to another level this season and he was “the man” for the Sabres in Game 1, picking up three points in total.

Alex Tuch Had Himself a Game

Though many will say the Bruins collapsed, the Sabres were the stronger team throughout. Part of that had to do with the absolutely sterling play of Alex Tuch. Everything he could do to help the Sabres win, he did.

On the score sheet, you will see that he assisted on Thompson’s second goal and then added an empty-netter which ultimately became the game-winner. But it’s all the other things that he did that stand out.

Tuch had four shots, blocked one, and had a team-high 10 hits, helping set the tone against a Bruins team that had been talking itself up as being bigger and stronger. Tuch’s defensive play as excellent as well, and he was a catalyst for the comeback as much as Thompson.

Goaltending Was Almost the Difference

A lot of predictions for this series hinged on Jeremy Swayman. For nearly two and a half periods, it looked like he was going to be the difference in this game. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen was good but Swayman was distinctly better for most of the game.

Until Thompson scored, it felt like Swayman was going to steal the game for the Bruins despite them being drastically outshot (they were ultimately outshot 38-20). Thompson managed to crack the armor, but it is something that bears watching.

The Sabres had more success when they created havoc around the net, so look for a lot of traffic in front of Swayman in Game 2. Aside from Swayman’s performance, the Sabres looked faster, stronger, and played more physically than the Bruins for 60 minutes.

The Unreal Story Continues

This is the kind of comeback that feels only fitting given how this season has gone. This team has never given up when facing a late deficit, making a few comebacks throughout the season that previous incarnations of this team would have failed to do.

It is obviously not ideal to have to come from behind, but their overall performance in this game shows that they shouldn’t have been in that position to begin with. Unless Swayman plays that way throughout, the Sabres should have a distinct advantage.