Bruins’ Marco Sturm repeatedly tips his hat to the Sabres: ‘They’re that good’

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Marco Sturm had a plan when he mentioned the Boston Bruins have been greater and stronger than the Buffalo Sabres. He needed a response. He got it.

“Somebody had fun with it,” the Bruins coach mentioned with a smile earlier than Game 1. “So I’m glad that happened.”

Sturm is a rookie coach, however he’s performing like a veteran in how he’s making an attempt to affect the collection. In the identical reply, Sturm credited the run-and-gun Sabres for being an offensive powerhouse.

“When we’re hard on pucks, strong on pucks, when we are physical, we have a chance,” Sturm mentioned Sunday. “If we decide to play their way, might as well stay at home. Because they’re that good. If you’re a Boston Bruin, we just have to play that way. If it’s not, it’s going to be long. Because they skate well. They’re skilled enough. They have 108 points for a reason.”

Sabres captain Rasmus Dahlin needs to be driving the bus at each ends. Dahlin and Mattias Samuelsson might get the shutdown project towards Morgan Geekie, Elias Lindholm and David Pastrnak. If the Bruins don’t handle the puck properly in the offensive zone, Dahlin might be delighted to go the different method.

“If you let him, he’s going to destroy us, basically,” Sturm mentioned. “We cannot allow that to happen. What it means is we need to stop him. The best thing is to be finishing our checks and make sure when he’s on the ice, we’re aware. Because he’s that good.”

KeyBank Center will explode at puck drop due to the Sabres’ 14-year postseason no-show. The Bruins might get their doorways blown off if the Sabres faucet into the crowd’s frenzy. 

“The pressure is on them, too,” Sturm mentioned. “They’ve been waiting for this moment. Not just the players — the organization, the fans, the city’s been waiting for that moment. There is a lot of pressure on the home team.”