The Boston Bruins suffered their first regulation loss of the season by a big margin and a flawed defensive corps contributed in large part to their 7-4 defeat by the Buffalo Sabres on Jan. 31.
"Defensively, I don't remember the last time we were this bad," head coach Claude Julien said following the game.
Despite the fact that the Bruins actually managed to build a 3-1 lead at one point in the second period, thanks to goals from Rich Peverley and Brad Marchand, the Sabres bounced back and then started to pile on the goals. David Krejci added another goal for Boston, but it wasn't enough.
Three defensemen--Dougie Hamilton, Zdeno Chara and Dennis Seidenberg--ended the night with negative ratings. After a first-period fight with John Scott, Shawn Thornton left the game and did not return. Tyler Seguin still seems snakebitten, unable to score a regulation goal. Thomas Vanek, on the other hand, completed a hat trick.
This was the first time in nearly five years that the Bruins had allowed so many goals in a single game.
"I didn't expect this type of game because it wasn't our type of game," Julien said. "We'll make some corrections tomorrow and try and solidify our defensive play again and get ready for Toronto," he added.
That would probably be a good thing to do because the Bruins will travel up to Canada for their next two games against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Feb. 2 and the Montreal Canadiens on Feb. 6.
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