David Pastrnak Just Hit 100 Points and the Sabres Are About to Find Out What That Means

The Buffalo Sabres are finally back. After 14 years away, they made the playoffs. And on Sunday night in Buffalo, they're walking straight into the Boston Bruins, a team that has won 11 Stanley Cup playoff rounds since the Sabres last played a postseason game in April 2011.

The Bruins are not exactly hiding their confidence. Coach Marco Sturm laid it out Friday without a filter: "We know how we have to play, we're going to be ready to go. We're excited. We are bigger, stronger, we are more physical."

Buffalo Heard It. Buffalo Doesn't Care.

The Sabres saw those comments. They read them. And they're choosing to ignore them. Forward Josh Doan said Saturday that the team trusts what they've built and will let the ice do the talking. "At the end of the day, I think our group trusts what we're doing here and we'll just let that play out throughout the series," Doan said. "We're going to stick to our game plan."

Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff kept it classy when asked about Sturm's jabs. "That's his take on his team," Ruff said. "I have a lot of respect for what our team has done and how we play and the speed we play the game."

The Bruins Have Firepower. A Lot of It.

Boston's advantage is real. David Pastrnak finished the regular season with exactly 100 points (29 goals, 71 assists) for the fourth straight year. That's elite-level consistency. After Pastrnak though, there's a big drop: Morgan Geekie is next at 68 points.

The Bruins barely made this thing. They won three of four meetings with Buffalo this season, including a 4-3 overtime win on March 25, but still finished fourth in the Atlantic Division and had to settle for the Eastern Conference's first wild-card spot. They're just thrilled to be back after missing the postseason last year for the first time in nine years.

Buffalo doesn't have a 100-point guy, but they have something different: Tage Thompson is one of the league's elite centers with 40 goals and 41 assists, and Rasmus Dahlin is one of the top offensive defensemen in hockey with 74 points (19 goals, 55 assists). The Sabres won the Atlantic Division by three points over Tampa Bay.

Game 1 is Sunday night. Welcome back to the playoffs, Buffalo. The Bruins are waiting.

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.