Boston Bruins
“I know a lot of teams — they’re afraid of us. I can tell. You can see it, you can hear it, and that’s what we have to do in Buffalo.”
The Bruins have seven players on their roster who posted 100 or more hits this season. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
April 17, 2026 | 6:22 PM
3 minutes to read
Marco Sturm isn’t fretting over matchups or the feared “last change” that the Sabres will wield at KeyBank Center in four out of a possible seven games in this first-round playoff series.
Boston’s bench boss is well aware of Buffalo’s rush-heavy approach, the speed of dynamic blueliners led by Rasmus Dahlin and Mattias Samuelsson, and the hostile atmosphere that awaits his club when the puck drops in Buffalo on Sunday evening.
For Sturm, all it might take is a few bone-rattling checks against the glass for the Bruins to drain the life out of Buffalo’s barn.
“We don’t really care,” a candid Sturm said Friday at Warrior Ice Arena of bracing for last change against Buffalo. “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. We just have to be smart. We’re going to go after them and whoever comes in — first line, second — I don’t really care. We try to play our game and not their game.”
Beyond the steadying presence of Jeremy Swayman between the pipes, the Bruins — on paper at least — may not hold many advantages against their Atlantic Division rivals in this opening-round series.
Buffalo’s forward corps — anchored down the middle by three skilled pivots in Tage Thompson, Josh Norris, and Ryan McLeod — can pick apart matchups and land punches at 5-on-5 play.
The Sabres’ D corps is shot-ready, with Buffalo ranking third in the NHL in goals by defensemen with 55 during the regular season.
But for all that’s seemingly working in Buffalo’s favor ahead of its first trek to the playoffs since 2011, the Bruins believe they have the blueprint in place that can tilt postseason bouts in their favor — regardless of the opponent.
It’s rooted in a relentless forecheck and a punishing approach that the Bruins have adopted all season long — an identity that could wear down even the most skilled rosters over the course of a seven-game slugfest.
“I think that could be a game changer, that could be a series changer, that could be a lot of things,” Sturm added of Boston’s smash-mouth mindset. “We just have to be smart about it. I know a lot of teams — they’re afraid of us. I can tell. You can see it, you can hear it, and that’s what we have to do in Buffalo.”
Sturm’s comments echo a swagger felt in a Bruins dressing room that has seemingly embraced Cam Neely’s preseason decree of more “piss and vinegar” out on the frozen sheet.
The Bruins have doled out plenty of damage in the offensive zone behind the likes of David Pastrnak (100 points), Morgan Geekie (39 goals), and many others.
But Boston has also relished the opportunity to tenderize puck carriers when given the opportunity.
Boston closed out the regular season with seven different players who logged at least 100 hits, with Tanner Jeannot (239 hits), Mark Kastelic (215), and Nikita Zadorov (196) all ranking in the top 25 of NHL players in recorded smacks out on the ice.
Only the Lightning recorded more fights than the Bruins’ 33 during the regular season, with Kastelic and Jeannot responsible for 18 of those scraps.
Kastelic and Jeannot’s priority over the next two weeks isn’t going to revolve around pummeling Buffalo’s skaters via a steady diet of right hooks.
But as evidenced by other teams like the Florida Panthers and St. Louis Blues, who forged unexpected playoff runs over the last few years — stapling skaters into the glass, forcing turnovers, and landing welts stands as a tried-and-true avenue toward postseason success.
Beyond the heft that Boston boasts in its lineup, fleet-footed forecheckers like Marat Khusnutdinov and even 19-year-old James Hagens could also create some chaos when Buffalo D-men like Owen Power, Logan Stanley, and others are tasked with puck retrievals in high-danger ice.
Will be fascinated to see how James Hagens fares in this series against Buffalo.
A strong forecheck and forcing turnovers will be critical in stopping a Buffalo offense that doles out plenty of damage on the rush. pic.twitter.com/C2LiNrR8Te
— Conor Ryan (@ConorRyan_93) April 17, 2026
The Sabres aren’t exactly an undersized squad, with 12 players on Buffalo’s roster measuring out at 6-foot-3 or taller.
But as Sturm echoed several times on Friday, a pugnacious Bruins squad isn’t shifting its approach — no matter who lines up against them over the next few weeks.
“I think if you don’t enjoy it, you’re in the wrong sport or wrong place,” Zadorov said of going into Buffalo to start off this postseason. “That’s playoff hockey. That’s pressure, that’s atmosphere, intensity, physicality, blood, sweat — you name it.”
Conor Ryan is a staff writer covering the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox for Boston.com, a role he has held since 2023.
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