It’s safe to say that Boston’s Johnny Boychuk was a difference maker in Boston’s 3-1 victory over Buffalo on Thursday. With the game tied at 1-1 midway through the third period, Boychuk leveled Thomas Vanek as the Sabres’ forward was trying to get out of his own zone.
Vanek suffered an upper body injury on the play. The severity is not yet known. If there’s a silver lining it’s that, as Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said, “It’s not head, just upper body.”
That was just the start for Boychuk. About two minutes later, Boychuk scooped up the loose puck in the Sabres’ zone and scored the game-winning goal on a rocket shot.
David Krejci scored at 15:54 of the third period to give the Bruins some extra breathing room.