The Buffalo Sabres came up short in their first attempt to eliminate the Boston Bruins from the 2026 NHL Playoffs as B's superstar David Pastrnak scored an overtime winner in Game 5 on Tuesday night.
Buffalo retains a 3-2 series advantage, however, and will get its second chance to advance when Game 6 takes place on Friday night at TD Garden. The Blue and Gold won their first two road games of the battle of Atlantic Division rivals by a combined score of 9-2.
The Sabres will once again be without Noah Ostlund, though. The rookie forward suffered a lower-body injury in the first period and wasn't able to return.
Noah Ostlund ruled out indefinitely; Josh Norris could return
Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff confirmed Ostlund will be out for a while with the injury suffered in Game 5, though he didn't reveal an official timetable.
"The news wasn't good," Ruff told reporters Wednesday. "Don't know exactly how much we know, but he's gonna miss some time."
Ostlund just returned from an upper-body injury that cost him nearly a month of action during the stretch run of the regular season and the first two games of the playoffs. He made an instant impact in Game 3, scoring two points in a 3-1 Buffalo victory.
Josh Norris, whose Game 2 injury created a lineup spot for Ostlund, was cleared to return for Game 5 but remained in the press box. Ruff usually doesn't like to change a winning lineup, and the Sabres had scored a dominant 6-1 win in Game 4 on Sunday.
Now the door is open for Norris to rejoin the top-nine forward group, and the injury-prone center will be facing a lot of pressure to find the score sheet after failing to record a point in Games 1 and 2.
Sabres still heavily favored in first-round series vs. Bruins
Although some Sabres supporters are likely feeling a touch of dread after the Game 5 loss, especially after enduring 14 years of misery during the longest playoff drought in NHL history, the numbers are still firmly in the club's favor.
Buffalo still has a 78% chance of eliminating the Bruins to earn a spot in the second round, and the team's 7% odds of raising the Stanley Cup are tied with the Minnesota Wild for the league's fifth-best mark, according to HockeyStats.com.
If you told Sabres fans in early December, when the Blue and Gold occupied last place in the Eastern Conference, they'd be leading their first-round series 3-2 with a legitimate championship opportunity, they'd have taken it in a heartbeat.
Yes, there have been moments throughout the battle with Boston that Buffalo's high-powered offense has been neutralized, but Ruff's group remains in a promising position. Learning to handle these pressure-packed situations is all part of the maturation process for a young roster.
Buffalo fans receive recognition around North America
There were a lot of questions by outside observers during Game 1 about why the Sabres, an American team, plays the Canadian national anthem at KeyBank Center. It's a longstanding tradition in the border city given the club's high number of fans from Southern Ontario, Canada.
If there was any doubt about whether it's a showcase of legitimate love for our neighbors to the north, that was eliminated on Tuesday night. Anthem singer Cami Clune's microphone malfunctioned during "O Canada," but those in attendance stepped up to loudly fill the void:
After a microphone issue in Buffalo, the entire crowd helps with the singing of O Canada ahead of Game 5 👏 pic.twitter.com/0q6HeLTCZ8
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 28, 2026
It was an incredible moment to witness, and casual viewers from both Canada and the United States have applauded Buffalo sports fans for their efforts to create the memorable rendition.
Credit to Clune for handling what could have been an awkward situation like a pro, too.
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