BUFFALO, N.Y. — Benoit Pouliot and Kyle Okposo scored on consecutive shots in the first period and the Buffalo Sabres beat retooled Boston 4-1 on Sunday in forward Rick Nash’s Bruins debut.
Evan Rodrigues and Marco Scandella also scored, and Chad Johnson stopped 34 shots. The Sabres snapped an 0-5-2 home skid against the Bruins.
Charlie McAvoy scored for the Bruins, who were coming off a 4-3 loss at Toronto on Saturday night. Boston had gone 22-4-3 since last losing consecutive games Dec. 14-16. Anton Khudobin was not sharp in goal, allowing four goals on 24 shots, including being beaten through the legs on Scandella’s goal from the right boards that put Buffalo up 4-1 in the opening minutes of the third period.
Nash’s addition failed to provide Boston a lift against the Eastern Conference’s last-place team. The Bruins squandered an opportunity to jump into second place in the Atlantic Division standings, a point ahead of the idle Maple Leafs.
The Bruins acquired the 33-year-old Nash in trade with the New York Rangers on Sunday morning. Boston gave up three players, including forward Ryan Spooner and prospect defenceman Ryan Lindgren, and its first-round pick in this year’s draft in a deal reached a day before the NHL’s trading deadline
PREDATORS 4, BLUES 0
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Pekka Rinne made 27 saves for his sixth shutout of the season and Nashville beat St. Louis to regain sole possession of the Central Division lead.
Austin Watson, Colton Sissons, Kevin Fiala and Scott Hartnell scored for the Predators. They have won four in a row. St. Louis has lost six straight.
The Associated Press