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NHL Stanley Cup: Bye-Bye Bruins

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The visiting Buffalo Sabres scored two first-period goals and never trailed en route to a 4-1 win over the Boston Bruins on Friday night, clinching their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series in six games for the upstart Sabres and sending the Bruins packing.

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Alex Tuch and Mattias Samuelsson built a 2-0 lead in the opening frame before Zach Benson and Josh Norris added insurance tallies in the third as Buffalo advanced to the conference semifinals for the first time since 2007.

Tage Thompson and Rasmus Dahlin each dished out two assists while Alex Lyon made 25 saves for the Sabres, who won all three games played in Boston in the series.

“To (win the series) on the road — against a team that played so well at home, one of the better home records in the league — I thought our guys dug in and gave us a heck of a game tonight,” Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff said.

David Pastrnak scored the lone goal and Jeremy Swayman stopped 22 shots in Boston’s losing effort.

“We felt the pressure being at home,” Bruins coach Marco Sturm said. “We feel the pressure because we care. We wanted to prove people wrong.”

Buffalo finished 0-for-4 on the power play, while Boston never had a man advantage.

The Sabres needed just 3:25 to score on their first shot and take a 1-0 lead for the third consecutive game. Tuch was open at the top of the crease to net Dahlin’s centering pass from the left circle past a trailing Swayman.

After the game’s first power play ended, Lyon kept the momentum on Buffalo’s side with huge saves in the middle stages of the first period. Among them, Casey Mittelstadt had a break-in attempt and a follow-up after a Morgan Geekie feed sent him ahead of the defense.

“Can’t get much better than that,” Tuch said about Lyon. “He was lights-out. He was in the zone. Attacked every opportunity they threw at him. Steady Eddy. Gives the bench a lot of confidence when you got a guy like that playing the way he was.”

Samuelsson made it 2-0 at 12:26 of the first, sending in a long shot from above the left circle through traffic. The puck sailed past Swayman’s blocker side.

Pastrnak got the second period off to an emphatic start for Boston at 1:54, helping to force a neutral-ice turnover before beating Lyon with a one-time shot off Pavel Zacha’s cross-ice pass on a 2-on-1 rush.

Neither side tallied for the rest of the period, including a stretch of nine-plus uninterrupted minutes. Swayman kept Boston’s deficit at 2-1 by denying close-range shots by Thompson and Bowen Byram during the extended sequence without a whistle.

Lyon made big saves against Geekie and Pastrnak to thwart Boston’s heavy pressure early in the third, helping to set the stage for Benson’s goal at 5:58.

Off a draw in Boston’s offensive zone, Josh Doan beat both Pastrnak and Charlie McAvoy to a puck to start the goal-scoring play. While bracing for a hit in the left corner, Doan fired a pass to an open Benson in the slot, where Benson fired home a one-time goal.

Norris punctuated the series victory, hitting the empty net with 3:20 remaining.

“We’re hoping that it’s a long road ahead of us. … We’re going to have to be ready,” Tuch said.

–Field Level Media

Jarren & Jake Lead Red Sox

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Boston’s Jarren Duran hit a three-run home run and their rookie spot starter Jake Bennett pitched well in his major league debut to propel the Red Sox to a 3-1 victory over the visiting Houston Astros in the opener of their three-games series Friday night.

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Bennett, who was called up from Triple-A Worcester on Friday to start in place of Garrett Crochet, allowed one run on five hits in five innings. He walked two and struck out three. Crochet was placed on the injured list Wednesday with shoulder inflammation.

Boston received four scoreless innings from four relievers after Bennett (1-0) was pulled. Carlos Correa doubled against Aroldis Chapman with two outs in the ninth, but Chapman got Yordan Alvarez to ground out to second to end the game. Chapman earned his sixth save.

The victory ended Boston’s two-game losing streak, and its three-game home losing streak.

Correa had three hits, including his third home run of the season. Isaac Paredes and Yainer Diaz each had two hits for the Astros.

Houston starter Mike Burrows (1-4) took the loss. He surrendered three runs on eight hits in six innings.

Roman Anthony collected three of Boston’s 10 hits. Anthony hit a double and singled twice. Trevor Story was 2-for-4, and Marcelo Mayer collected a single to extend his hitting streak to nine games.

The Astros grabbed a 1-0 lead on Correa’s solo home run in the top of the third.

 

Sox Back at Fenway for 3-Game Set

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BOSTON – The Houston Astros might have caught a break in advance of their road game against the Boston Red Sox tonight. Houston was scheduled to face Boston ace Garrett Crochet in the opener of a three-game series but is expected to see rookie left-hander Jake Bennett instead.

The Red Sox placed Crochet on the 15-day injured list with left shoulder inflammation on Wednesday. He said he began to feel some fatigue in his shoulder on Saturday when he pitched against the Baltimore Orioles and hopes he can rejoin the rotation when he’s eligible in about two weeks.

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Bennett, 25, was scratched from his start for Triple-A Worcester on Tuesday. Multiple media outlets said he likely will be on the mound Friday for his major league debut, but those reports have not been confirmed by the Red Sox.

Bennett is 2-1 with an 0.86 ERA in five starts with Worcester this season. He has struck out 16 and walked three in 21 innings.

Boston acquired Bennett from Washington for pitching prospect Luis Perales last December. The Nationals selected Bennett in the second round of the 2022 MLB Draft. He missed the 2024 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery.

“Big-time strike thrower,” Boston interim manager Chad Tracy said. “The velocity and the fastball has obviously ticked up. He was coming off an arm injury when he was with Washington. But when he’s sitting there 94 (mph) — another guy kind of like (Payton) Tolle, doesn’t throw as hard, but big guy that really gets down the mound with big extension. So he tends to get in on hitters, too, because the fastball plays up.”

“He’s in the zone a lot,” Tracy added. “Does a good job of holding runners. He can go from a slide step, he can use a leg kick, lands all stuff. But he’s really, really good, at least down there has been, getting the ball in the strike zone. And he gets a lot of weak contact.”

Houston is scheduled to start right-hander Mike Burrows (1-3, 6.25 ERA) in the series opener. He is 1-0 with a 3.86 ERA in two career appearances against the Red Sox.

Boston, which is coming off back-to-back losses to the Toronto Blue Jays, is at the bottom of the American League East standings. The Red Sox were held to one total run in those two losses.

Houston split a doubleheader with Baltimore on Thursday. Yordan Alvarez had his 13-game hitting streak end in the opener, a 10-3 loss, but he hit his 12th home run during Houston’s 11-5 victory in the second game. Few Boston pitchers have had success against Alvarez, who is hitting .391 with nine home runs and 25 RBIs in 26 regular-season games against the Red Sox.

Alvarez is tied for the AL lead in home runs (12) and is first in RBIs (27) and batting average (.356).

Houston won the second game without veterans Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa, both of whom were held out of the lineup after playing in the first game.

“It’s going to take the whole entire team,” Houston manager Joe Espada said. “Those guys (Altuve and Correa) have been playing every day, they’re grinding through it. We need some of these other guys to come in and support, do some things on the bases, at the plate, defensively. And those guys did that today.”

The Astros, who are tied with the Los Angeles Angels for last place in the AL West, swept a three-game series against the Red Sox in Houston from March 30-April 1. Both the Astros and Red Sox have 12 wins this season.

–Field Level Media

Sixers Force Game Seven

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PHILADELPHIA – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Philly’s All-Star Tyrese Maxey scored 30 points Thursday as the surging Philadelphia 76ers posted a 106-93 win over the visiting Boston Celtics, forcing a decisive Game 7 in their first-round Eastern Conference playoff series.

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The second-seeded Celtics led the series 3-1 following a 32-point win in Philadelphia on Sunday, but the seventh-seeded Sixers rebounded to post double-digit wins in Games 5 and 6.

The teams will reconvene Saturday for Game 7 in Boston, where the Sixers will aim to complete a 3-1 series comeback for the first time in franchise history.

Paul George added 23 points for Philadelphia, while Joel Embiid had 19 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists in his third game since returning from an emergency appendectomy. VJ Edgecombe and Kelly Oubre Jr. chipped in with 14 points apiece for the Sixers.

“I just thought we played free,” George said. “It’s really no pressure. We come out — we lose, we go home.”

“It’s (still) win-or-go-home. I like our chances,” George said about Game 7. “I know it ain’t going to be easy, but we’ve been playing well lately.”

Jaylen Brown led Boston with 18 points but also committed five of his team’s 13 turnovers. Jayson Tatum contributed 17 points and 11 rebounds for the Celtics, who shot poorly from the field (41.9%), the 3-point arc (12 of 41, 29.3%) and the foul line (9 of 16, 56.2%).

Philadelphia shot just 8 of 24 (33.3%) from the field in the first quarter and trailed 23-20 after 12 minutes.

The second quarter was a different story for the Sixers, who outscored the Celtics 38-26 in the period. Maxey led the way with 13 points in the session.

Philadelphia’s lead was 38-36 midway through the second quarter before Edgecombe’s jumper ignited an 18-8 run that put the hosts ahead by a dozen late in the period. Boston briefly got its deficit down to seven before Maxey dropped in a floater just before halftime.

About three minutes into the third quarter, Brown knocked down a 3-pointer to bring Boston within 65-54. However, Philadelphia countered with a flashy sequence in which Embiid’s behind-the-back pass set up an Oubre dunk and then George’s behind-the-back pass unleashed an Edgecombe slam to bring the crowd to its feet.

The Sixers went on to lead by as many as 21 points late in the third quarter before the Celtics inched within 82-63 heading into the fourth.

Philadelphia was up 88-65 with 10:24 remaining, but Boston then scored 11 straight points, capped by Luka Garza’s dunk with 7:10 to play.

However, it didn’t take the Sixers long to regain control. Edgecombe swished a 3-pointer to make it 98-78 and the home team cruised from there.

“It’s part of the playoffs. We have an opportunity for Game 7 at home,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said. “We didn’t play well tonight. We’ve got to move on to the next game.”

–Field Level Media

Sixers stun Celtics; Force Game 6

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BOSTON – (Wire Service Report) – Joel Embiid tossed in 33 points and added eight assists as the visiting Philadelphia 76ers avoided elimination by beating the Boston Celtics 113-97 Tuesday in Game 5 of their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series. Embiid, who missed the first three games of the series following an appendectomy, went to the locker room with an apparent knee injury with 4:35 to play in the third quarter, but returned to the game with 2:00 left in the third.

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Tyrese Maxey added 25 points and 10 rebounds for the seventh-seeded 76ers, who entered the fourth quarter down one but outscored the Celtics 28-11 over the final 12 minutes. Paul George finished the game with 16 points, nine rebounds and seven assists.

Second-seeded Boston received 24 points and 16 rebounds from Jayson Tatum, and 22 points from Jaylen Brown. Neemias Queta had eight points and 14 rebounds. The Celtics shot 36 of 89 from the field.

Boston went in front for the first time on a Brown layup that made it 16-15 with 2:59 left in the first. The Celtics led 23-21 entering the second.

Boston extended its advantage to 42-31 on a Tatum 3-pointer, but the 76ers moved to within two points, 50-48, following a Maxey 3-pointer with 2:10 remaining in the half. Boston scored the next seven points and had a 57-50 halftime lead.

The Celtics stretched their lead to 13 points, 63-50, less than two minutes into the third, but a VJ Edgecombe 3-pointer pulled Philadelphia within one point, 66-65, with 6:37 to play in the quarter. Boston was up 86-85 at the end of three.

Philadelphia took an 88-86 lead on a George 3-pointer early in the fourth, and had its largest lead of the game after Edgecombe knocked down a 3-pointer that made it 109-94 with 2:25 to play.

Game 6 will be Thursday night in Philadelphia.

–Field Level Media

“Pasta” Saves the Bruins’ Season

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BUFFALO – (Wire Service Report) – Boston’s David Pastrnak’s breakaway goal at 9:14 of overtime lifted the visiting Bruins to a season-saving, 2-1 win over the Buffalo Sabres in Game 5 of their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series on Tuesday night. Less than two minutes after Boston goaltender Jeremy Swayman made a massive stop on Alex Tuch, Pastrnak received Hampus Lindholm’s long feed while striding over the blue line and broke free to slot the winning goal past the skate of Buffalo’s Alex Lyon.

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Elias Lindholm also scored and Swayman made five of his 25 saves in the extra session to keep the Bruins’ season alive, forcing the series back to Boston for Game 6 on Friday.

Boston has won two of the three series on the road in Buffalo.

Rasmus Dahlin netted the lone goal and Lyon stopped 27 shots for Buffalo, which seeks its first playoff series win since 2007.

Though Boston enjoyed a strong territorial advantage in the first period, Buffalo blocked 11 shots during 5-on-5 play and scored the opening goal for the second consecutive game.

A roughing call on Mark Kastelic just 2:11 into the game led to Dahlin’s goal at 3:35, which broke the Sabres’ 0-for-17 drought on the power play to begin the series. From the right circle, the Buffalo captain slotted home Jason Zucker’s feed through traffic.

Boston started slower in the middle frame, but netted its second shot for a tying goal. At 9:24, Elias Lindholm made a great individual effort, cutting to the front with Morgan Geekie’s pass and scoring a second-effort turnaround shot from the slot.

With the game knotted at 1-1, both goaltenders faced important work in the third. Just after Lyon helped Buffalo kill off an early Tuch high-sticking penalty 4:59 in, Swayman made a huge post-to-post save on Tage Thompson’s redirection at the right post.

Swayman then thwarted a major flurry with inside 2:20 left in regulation, spurred by Jordan Greenway’s trigger from the top of the right circle and extended with Tyson Kozak’s backhand from the wing.

Boston’s Sean Kuraly put the puck in the net 2:58 into overtime, but the play was blown dead while under Lyon’s pads. The Buffalo goaltender stopped Pastrnak and Hampus Lindholm back-to-back thereafter.

Buffalo forward Noah Ostlund exited the game early due to a lower-body injury, as he appeared to get tangled with Boston’s Casey Mittelstadt in a battle in the corner in the first period.

–Field Level Media

Jays’ Yesavage ’26 Debut Blanks Sox

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TORONTO – (Wire Service Report) – Trey Yesavage pitched 5 1/3 sharp innings in his season debut Tuesday night and the Toronto Blue Jays shut out the visiting Boston Red Sox 3-0. Yesavage (1-0) allowed four hits and no walks while striking three. He started the season on the injured list due to a right shoulder impingement.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. had two hits and an RBI while Kazuma Okamoto had a two-run single to help the Blue Jays end Boston’s three-game winning streak.

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Louis Varland struck out the side in the ninth to earn his fourth save.

Boston won the opener of the three-game series 5-0 on Monday, when Toronto was limited to two hits. The decisive match will be played Wednesday afternoon.

The Red Sox had runners at third base without scoring in each of the first two innings against Yesavage. Willson Contreras was stranded at third after his one-out double in the first. Boston left runners at first and third in the second after Trevor Story bunted for a single and Marcelo Mayer singled to right with two outs. Mayer extended his career-best hitting streak to seven games.

Toronto took a 2-0 lead against Payton Tolle (0-1) in the third. Andres Gimenez led off with a single and took third on Guerrero’s two-out double to left. Both runners scored on Okamoto’s single off the wall in left, but Okamoto was retired while trying for a double.

The Blue Jays added to the lead in the fifth. After Myles Straw and Ernie Clement accepted two-out walks, Zack Kelly replaced Tolle and saw Guerrero hit his first pitch for an RBI single to center.

Tolle allowed three runs, three hits and four walks with four strikeouts in 4 2/3 innings.

Yesavage struck out Contreras to open the sixth before being replaced by Mason Fluharty.

Toronto’s Jeff Hoffman pitched a perfect seventh with two strikeouts, and Tyler Rogers added a perfect top of the eighth. Boston did not have a hit after the fourth inning.

Boston’s Wilyer Abreu went 0-for-3 with a walk to end a six-game hitting streak.

–Field Level Media

Cold Play: Vrabel Photos Surface

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NEW YORK – (Wire Service Report) – Newly surfaced photos appear to show Mike Vrabel and Dianna Russini kissing in a New York City bar back in 2020.

The New York Post’s Page Six published the photos Thursday, one day after the New England Patriots head coach announced that he will miss Day 3 of the NFL draft on Saturday to attend counseling.

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The scandal began on April 7 when the Post published photos of Vrabel and Russini, then an NFL reporter for The Athletic, holding hands and hugging at a luxury resort in Sedona, Arizona.

The pictures published Thursday were supposedly taken at the Tribeca Tavern in the early hours of March 11, 2020 and appear to show the pair sitting close together at the bar and sharing a kiss. “They were kissing and they were all over each other. He had a ring on,” an eyewitness told Page Six.

At the time of the photos on March 11, 2020 — remembered as the day COVID-19 was officially declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization — Vrabel was coaching the Tennessee Titans and already married to his current wife, while Russini was engaged to her current husband.

Vrabel, 50, gave a statement to the Post for Thursday’s story.

“As I said the other day, I promised my family, this organization and this team that I was going to give them the best version of me that I can possibly give them,” he said. “In order to do so, I have committed to seeking counseling, starting this weekend. This is something that I have given a lot of thought to and is something I would advise a player to do if I was counseling them.

“I have always wanted to lead by example and I believe this is what I have to do to be the best husband, father and coach that I possibly can be,” Vrabel continued. “This is not an easy thing for me to admit, but it is one that I know will make me a better person. I appreciate the support that everyone has given me and promise a stronger resolve as a result.”

Vrabel will be with the Patriots on Thursday night when they make their first selection in the 2026 NFL Draft at No. 31 overall, and also when they choose players late in the second and third rounds on Friday. He will be absent for the last four rounds on Saturday.

“The New England Patriots fully support Mike Vrabel’s decision to prioritize his family first, as well as his own well-being,” the Patriots said in a statement on Thursday. “Mike has been open with us about his commitment to being the best version of himself for his family, this team and our fans, and we respect the steps he is taking to follow through on that commitment.

“We are confident in the leadership and communication Mike has established with our personnel staff throughout this pre-draft process. While he will not be present at the facility on Saturday, we know the draft evaluations are complete and (executive vice president of player personnel) Eliot Wolf and his personnel staff are prepared to execute our draft as planned this weekend.”

Russini resigned from The Athletic last week amid an investigation by the New York Times-run organization into the nature of her relationship with Vrabel.

When the Arizona photos initially came out, Vrabel said the pictures “show a completely innocent interaction and any suggestion otherwise is laughable.”

Vrabel became the head coach of the Patriots — one of the teams for which he played — ahead of the 2025 season and guided New England to Super Bowl LX. The Seattle Seahawks defeated the Patriots 29-13.

Vrabel earned his second AP NFL Coach of the Year honor last season after winning the award in 2021 when he led the Titans. He was Tennessee’s head coach from 2018-23.

–Field Level Media

 

Sox Win Behind Suarez Gem

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TORONTO – (Wire Service Report) – Boston left-hander Ranger Suarez pitched eight innings of one-hit ball Monday night as the visiting Red Sox defeated the Toronto Blue Jays 5-0. Suarez (2-2) struck out 10 and walked one in the opener of a three-game series. Reliever Greg Weissert pitched around a double in the ninth to complete the shutout.

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The Red Sox have won three in a row for the first time this season, the past two under interim manager Chad Tracy with the offense supplied by Carlos Narvaez hitting a solo homer for Boston, and Marcelo Mayer and Wilyer Abreu each had two hits, a walk and an RBI.

Boston opened the scoring in the fourth inning against Dylan Cease (1-1). Willson Contreras led off with a single, took second when Abreu walked with one out and scored on Mayer’s two-out single to center.

The Red Sox scored twice in the fifth.

Caleb Durbin walked with one out and was forced at second on Jarren Duran’s grounder to second. Contreras was hit by a pitch, and the runners advanced when Cease’s pickoff throw to second sailed into center field.

Duran came home when Cease tripped moving off the mound in an attempt to field Roman Anthony’s infield hit, a trickler near the first base line. Abreu lined an RBI double to right that Jesus Sanchez dropped at the warning track.

Boston took a 4-0 lead in the sixth. Mayer led off with a walk and took second on Ceddanne Rafaela’s single. A double-play grounder put Mayer at third, and he scored on Durbin’s soft single to left. Joe Mantiply then replaced Cease, who allowed four runs, seven hits, three walks and a hit batter while striking out five in 5 2/3 innings.

Toronto had only a walk before Sanchez led off the home sixth with a double past third base. Suarez escaped the inning with two strikeouts and a flyout.

Narvaez hit a homer to left-center with two outs in the eighth on a 2-2 sweeper from Chase Lee, who was recalled Monday from Triple-A Buffalo.

Toronto put Max Scherzer on the injured list due to tendinitis in his right foreman and inflammation in his left ankle.

–Field Level Media

Boston Bruins on the Brink

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BUFFALO – (Wire Service Report) – After taking a second straight home loss in “embarrassing” fashion, the Boston Bruins are on the brink of elimination as the scene of their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series shifts back to Buffalo.

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The Sabres will look to land the knockout punch against their Atlantic Division rivals and earn their first playoff series win since 2007 in Game 5 on Tuesday night.

Buffalo’s 6-1 win in Game 4 on Sunday quickly became a laugher. Four first-period goals were more than enough, and Alex Lyon was 39.9 seconds away from shutting out the Bruins in his second straight start in the series.

“We have an extremely high-competitive group. We all have a standard that we all carry ourselves to — and it wasn’t met,” said Boston goaltender Jeremy Swayman, who appeared to yell at his teammates while exiting the bench after being relieved by Joonas Korpisalo in the third period.

The Bruins have never come back from a 3-1 series deficit (0-25) and the Sabres have never let such a lead slip away (7-0) in each franchise’s playoff history.

While history certainly does not favor Boston, the series is not over yet.

“As far as I know, you have to win four games to move on. So they’ve got three. That means we still have a chance,” Bruins coach Marco Sturm told reporters after Sunday’s game. “I can cry about it, but I also have to push my guys for the next game and make sure our intensity is gonna be there.”

“We have a one-game mission,” Sturm added on Monday.

Buffalo’s dominant start on Sunday made Lindy Ruff one happy coach, and not just because his team scored the opening goal for the first time in the series and built a commanding lead.

“That first period was the best period we played all year,” Ruff said. “Puck pressure, scoring opportunities. We moved the puck and got the puck up ice. We didn’t spend much time in our end.”

On Sunday, six different Sabres scored goals, with four of them adding an assist as well.

One shining star in the series has been defenseman Bowen Byram, whose tally at the end of the four-goal frame marked his third in the last three games. He finished the game plus-3.

“He’s obviously been awesome all year and has brought it to another level in the playoffs,” said Owen Power, Byram’s defense partner. “It’s nice having him and all the other guys in here that have some playoff experience to lean on and have them help lead us.”

Byram won a Stanley Cup with the Colorado Avalanche in 2022.

Power, Peyton Krebs and Alex Tuch have all notched points in all four games of the series, with Power and Krebs logging those streaks to begin their playoff careers. Krebs scored the first goal just 4:17 into Sunday’s game.

The rock-solid team effort has extended to the net, where Lyon took over for Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen in relief in Game 2 and has since posted a league-best .964 save percentage in the playoffs.

The vibes are good in Buffalo, but the message is clear: The Sabres still have to finish.

“We’ve done a good job in this series, but the fourth one is always the hardest,” Byram said of the challenge of closing.

The Bruins had to shuffle their Monday practice lines with forward Viktor Arvidsson and defenseman Nikita Zadorov both off for maintenance days. Arvidsson left Game 4 due to an upper-body injury and did not return.

“We still have to check with medical, but we have to wait until probably (Tuesday) on both of them,” Sturm said of both players’ status.

Ruff expects Buffalo forwards Jason Zucker and Tyson Kozak — who both missed time in Sunday’s third period — to be available going forward.

–Field Level Media