Charlie McAvoy gets real on Bruins’ collapse ahead of Game 2 vs. Sabres

The first 50 minutes of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs were a huge success for the Boston Bruins — but a nightmare 10 minutes led to a Game 1 loss to the Buffalo Sabres at the KeyBank Center on Sunday night.

Leading 2-0 as the clock ticked down in the final frame, the Bruins allowed the Sabres to score three goals in a span of just 4:34, eventually losing 4-3.

It was a disappointing result for B’s faithful, but top defenseman Charlie McAvoy is already turning the page.

“I thought we played a good road game to start,” McAvoy said on Monday, per NHL.com’s Amalie Benjamin. “We played 50 minutes of really good hockey; and the other 10, we just went and learned from and we’ll be better for it tomorrow.

“I think, puck management, that stuff’s going to happen. And it was kind of, what happens after? Where are we? Are we putting out fires? Being in the right spots that we know we’re supposed to be in. We’ve got to find a way to get into their zone, spend more time there and be more dangerous than we were yesterday.”

It was certainly a shocking result, as the Bruins had played an excellent road game through two and a half periods, and were getting terrific goaltending from Jeremy Swayman throughout the contest.

But it all came apart at the end, and now Boston will look to regroup and steal back home-ice advantage when Game 2 gets underway on Tuesday night.

“It’s a long series,” said head coach Marco Sturm, per Benjamin. “We’re ready for a long series. We want to play a long series. That means yesterday was yesterday, today is today. It’s actually sunny here in Buffalo. Got to enjoy that, regroup, recharge.

“As long as we’re going to stick with the game plan we have and the game we’re supposed to play, I do like our chances. Unfortunately a win didn’t happen [on Sunday], but we still feel really good. It’s one game. We’ve got to win one game at one point here in Buffalo and we will try to do our best tomorrow.”

Puck will drop on what should be another exciting tilt in Western New York just past 7:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday.

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