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Boston Bruins send Buffalo Sabres packing

Tuukka Rask

Boston Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask dives to make a save against the Buffalo Sabres during the third period of Game 4 of an NHL hockey first-round playoff series in Boston on Wednesday, April 21, 2010. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

AP

The Boston Bruins advanced to the second round of the playoffs in the same way that they got to the playoffs: by grinding out wins with timely scoring and strong goaltending by Tuukka Rask. Boston Bruins 4, Buffalo Sabres 3

Bruins win series 4-2

Miroslav Satan rose above all the hackneyed (though every-now-and-then clever) devil jokes to be a factor in this series. He made the game 4-2 with what was eventually a game-winning goal and generally raised the ire of his former team in Buffalo. Satan joined Mark Recchi and Patrice Bergeron as the Bruins’ redemptive trio of leading scorers with a one goal, one assist performance than must have made Ryan Miller steaming mad.

Both Miller and Rask were strong in this series, but ultimately Rask came away with the win. During the season, a lot of the Boston talk focused negativity toward last year’s Vezina Trophy winner Tim Thomas, but it’s difficult not to be positive about their net situation now. Going forward, the team has Thomas and Rask to work with (unless Boston can make a lucrative trade with Thomas). Certainly seems like a more positive situation now, doesn’t it?

I, for one, didn’t expect the Sabres to be as strong as they were in the regular season. They’re actually in pretty solid salary cap condition to maybe add a difference-maker (They should give Sergei Gonchar a call, for one thing ...). They obviously must be disappointed in losing in the first round, but with Tyler Myers, a decent group of forwards and Ryan Miller in net, things could be a lot worse. Still, this team needs to add some zip to their lineup if they want to make real noise in the playoffs.