Pastrnak scores 9:14 into OT and Bruins avoid elimination with 2-1 win over Sabres

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — When Hampus Lindholm got the puck inside Boston’s blue line after teammate Fraser Minten broke up the Buffalo Sabres’ rush, and the Bruins defenseman knew immediately who to look for.

Sure enough, there was David Pastrnak already heading toward Buffalo’s zone.

Set up by Lindholm, Pastrnak scored on a breakaway 9:14 into overtime, and the Bruins avoided elimination with a 2-1 win in Game 5 of their first-round playoff series on Tuesday night.

“He’s pretty special when it comes to those opportunities, too, so it was fun to see it go in,” Lindholm said.

Pastrnak said the chemistry he has with Lindholm is a result of them being neighbors.

“We always call it the neighbor connection,” Pastrnak said. “Seems like anytime he has the puck and I have an opening, I have the confidence that he’s gonna find me.”

The series shifts back to Boston for Game 6 on Friday night, with Buffalo still seeking to clinch its first playoff series victory since eliminating the New York Rangers in six games of a 2007 second-round series. The Sabres are in the playoffs for only the third time since, and after snapping an NHL record 14-season playoff drought this year.

Elias Lindholm also scored for Boston which overcame a 1-0 deficit. Jeremy Swayman stopped 25 shots, including foiling Jason Zucker set up in front 3:30 into the extra period.

Rasmus Dahlin scored for Buffalo and Alex Lyon stopped 27 shots.

“He’s always lurking,” Lyon said of Pastrnak, whom the goalie robbed on several chances. “Obviously, he’s one of the best players in the league,” Lyon added of a player who reached the 100-point mark for a fourth straight season. “It’s just one play at the end from a really good player. That’s usually how these things go. And now it’s just incumbent on us to move forward.”

The Sabres were caught up ice, and the Bruins jumped into making a line change, with Pastrnak coming off the bench as the turnover occurred.

Accepting Lindholm’s pass in stride as he crossed Buffalo’s blue line, Pastrnak drove in on net a step ahead of Buffalo’s Mattias Samuelsson. He faked cutting across the front and nearly lost his balance before slipping the puck inside the right post.

“He always gets it done. And what a nice finish from him,” coach Marco Sturm said of the 12th-year player. “I’m just very happy because this guy puts a lot of pressure on himself and he wants to be the difference. And today he was.”

The goal was the 41st of Pastrnak’s playoff career, and second in overtime. He scored Boston’s last overtime goal, also coming in an elimination game, to seal the Bruins’ 2-1 win over Toronto in Game 7 of their 2024 first-round series.

Lindholm tied it 9:24 into the second period after his bad-angle shot bounced into the slot. Lindholm got to the loose puck first and, with his back to the net, spun around and fired in a low shot through a crowd.

Dahlin opened the scoring at 3:35 with his first playoff goal, and Buffalo’s first power-play goal in nearly a month. Driving up the left wing, Zucker’s initial pass attempt was blocked before recovering the puck and feeding Dahlin for a one-timer in the right circle.

The Sabres had gone 0-of-17 with the man advantage this series, and entered the playoffs failing to convert 22 straight chances, dating to a 4-3 win over the New York Islanders on March 31.

The Bruins played without second-line forward Viktor Arvidsson, who was hurt in the first period of Game 4 on Sunday.

Buffalo lost rookie forward Noah Ostlund to a lower-body injury in the first period.

Coach Lindy Ruff didn’t reveal what the injury was, but said, “it doesn’t look good.” Ostlund had just returned to the lineup from an upper-body injury in Game 3, in which he had a goal and assist.

The Bruins have won back-to-back outings in Buffalo after squandering a 2-0 lead in the final 7:58 of a 4-3 loss in Game 1. The Sabres won both outings in Buffalo, and were coming off a 6-1 win on Sunday.

“We’re in a good spot. We should be ready for the next one,” Dahlin said. “It’s a tight game and stuff happens, so we’re ready for going to Boston.”

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AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl