It’s official: the Buffalo Sabres will take on the Boston Bruins in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Marco Sturm and Boston will show no mercy. That was made clear as Sturm sent a warning message to the Sabres.
The Bruins may not have steamrolled through the 2025–26 NHL season like the Sabres did, but they are a force to be reckoned with. The Spoked B has several players with a lengthy playoff history; Buffalo doesn’t. Most importantly, the Bruins are hungry.
“We’re hungry enough to beat them. We’re ready, so it should be a good one,” Sturm commented on the first-round matchup, via NHL.com. “People like to watch the Bruins. People like to watch Buffalo. It’s great for the league.”
Sabres eye deep postseason run
With first place in the Atlantic Division secured, the Sabres will take on the Dallas Stars in a virtually meaningless regular-season finale. Instead, the attention in the City of Good Neighbors has shifted to the Boston Bruins. The NHL has yet to announce the schedule for the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but fans can hardly wait for the puck to drop. It was a long time coming for them.
Marco Sturm head coach of the Bruins
Now that Buffalo has finally snapped its 14-season playoff drought (the longest in NHL history), they want more. A first-round exit is a goal no team has ever vied for, and the Sabres are no exception. The first goal was met, but they must go on a deep run.
Sabres vs Bruins: Head-to-head record
Being divisional opponents means the Sabres and Bruins have faced-off four times in the 2025-26 NHL campaign. As much success as Buffalo has had against its division and the rest of the league, Boston was its kryptonite.
The Sabres finished 1-3 against the Spoked B this season. Sturm’s team was the only side in the Atlantic that had a winning record against Lindy Ruff’s squad. Thus, the Sabres may have come away with a nightmare matchup in their first postseason appearance since 2011.
If there’s a silver lining for the Sabres, it’s the fact two of their three defeats to the Bruins were overtime losses. In the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the story could be very different when the two sides clash in a best-of-seven series.
Special teams could decide Sabres-Bruins series
In the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the rink seems to shrink. The action is tighter, and players must fight for every inch of the ice. However, they can’t afford to commit silly penalties, because that could well be the difference between winning and being eliminated. When the Sabres and Bruins collide, it’ll be no different. As it’s often the case in the postseason, special teams may play a big role.
Boston boasts the ninth-best power play in the league (operating at 23.4%). Meanwhile, the Sabres have the fourth-best penalty kill unit in the NHL (82.1 PK%). Buffalo can be dangerous even when outnumbered. The Sabres’ 10 shorthanded goals (SHG) rank third in the 2025–26 campaign. As for the Bruins, they are much more conservative when on the kill, having just two SHG to show for it.
In an evenly matched series, special teams could prove the difference. However, when it comes to the Sabres and Bruins, both have offsetting strengths. In the end, only one will prevail and move on to face the winner of the Tampa Bay Lightning–Montreal Canadiens series.
| BUFFALO SABRES | BOSTON BRUINS | |
| RECORD | 50-23-8 (81 GAMES) | 45-27-10 |
| HEAD-TO-HEAD RECORD | 1-1-2 | 3-1-0 |
| POINTS | 108 | 100 |
| POWER PLAY (PP%) | 19.8 | 23.4 |
| PENALTY KILL (PK%) | 82.1 | 77.0 |
| GOALS FOR | 280 | 268 |
| GOALS AGAINST | 237 | 247 |
