Boston Bruins stampede Sabres: Lauko, Orlov and Clifton shine

The Boston Bruins extended their eight game winning streak on the Thursday night 7-1 win against the Buffalo Sabres. This win puts the Bruins to the fastest pace to 100 points in NHL History, as they only needed 61 games to do it. The 1976-77 Montreal Canadiens had the fastest pace with 62 games to reach 100 points.

Taylor Hall and Nick Foligno both missed this game with injuries. Hall suffered a lower-body injury in the win against the Edmonton Oilers on Monday night, he was placed on long-term Injury reserve which means he will miss at least the next 12 of the 15 remaining games of the regular season. The earliest Hall can return will be on Tuesday March 28 against the Nashville Predators.

Foligno suffered a right leg injury in the 2nd period in the win against the Calgary Flames on Tuesday night. Foligno’s been placed on injury reserve as he will miss at least a week. The earliest Foligno can return is on March 9 against the Edmonton Oilers at TD Garden.  The Bruins called forward Jakub Lauko from the Providence Bruins to provide depth on the 4th line, and he filled it well.

Brad Marchand had to leave the game in the 2nd period with a lower-body injury. The status is unknown for Saturday Afternoon’s game against the New York Rangers. The trade for Tyler Bertuzzi earlier in the day could help fill those holes and Jake DeBrusk could move back into the left wing, which is his natural spot.

1.  Jakub Lauko leads the Boston Bruins after callup

Jakub Lauko scored two goals in the game, it’s his first multi-goal game of his young career. Lauko now has three goals in his career as he had one goal coming into the game, which he scored on November 1 against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Lauko has been lauded as the future of the Boston Bruins, he’s been the first player they call up whenever they need to fill a roster spot.

They will likely need Lauko for an extended period of time due to the Bruins lineup being banged up with Hall, Foligno and now Marchand all may be out with injuries.

2.  Dmitry Orlov proves why he’s a nice addition for the Boston Bruins

Orlov scored a power-play goal in the 2nd period to break the ice between the Bruins and the Sabres. This is the 2nd straight game that Orlov scored a goal as he scored two in the win against the Flames.

Orlov also had two assists in the game to Lauko’s first goal and the Patrice Bergeron empty net goal. This makes a three-game point streak as he also had two assists in the win against the Edmonton Oilers on Monday. Since he was traded to the Bruins Orlov has three goals and five assists.

3.  Connor Clifton scores a shorty for the Bruins

Defenseman Connor Clifton scored his 5th goal of the season in the third period when the Bruins were shorthanded following a hooking call against Tomas Nosek late in the third period. Clifton’s 5 goals this season is a career high for him as he would only score 1 or 2 goals a year, which is a huge improvement.

This is the first shorthanded goal in the Clifton’s career and the Bruins now have 7 shorthanded goals in the season. This was one of two shorthanded goals as Bergeron scored one too. The last time the Bruins scored mutliple shorthanded goals was in the win on February 11, 2018 against the New Jersey Devils.

https://twitter.com/NHLBruins/status/1631490831143120896?cxt=HHwWgMC9yYqRnKQtAAAA

The Bruins will be facing off against the New York Rangers on Saturday at 1 PM on ABC before going on a five-day break before they face the Oilers again at TD Garden.