The excitement about playoff hockey returning to Buffalo reached a new level when the Sabres won Game 1 of their 2026 Stanley Cup playoffs series against the Boston Bruins on Sunday night.
The Sabres seemed destined to flounder in their first playoff appearance in about 15 years. But then Tage Thompson’s two goals tied the game. It took two more tallies to seal the victory.
Buffalo got the job done. However, the victory goes beyond taking the all-important Game 1 in the series. It provided the spark that could lead to a Stanley Cup run.
The rationale behind that assertion is direct. Had the Sabres lost the game, the entire momentum in the series would have shifted to the Bruins. In particular, Marco Sturm’s comments ahead of Game 1 would have proven true. The Bruins are a bigger and better team.
Instead, the Sabres clawed their way back and demonstrated that they are ready for postseason hockey. It was that comeback victory that showed the team they can beat anybody. It’s the sort of confidence boost that could flip a psychological switch that leads to a prolonged playoff run.
Sabres Relive ‘May Day’ Almost 25 Years to the Day
On April 24, 1993, Brad May scored one of the most memorable goals in Buffalo Sabres history. The “May Day” call came when Buffalo, interestingly enough, beat the Bruins 6-5 in overtime.
May, who wasn’t precisely one of the NHL’s most notorious scorers of his day, scored the unforgettable goal that capped off a series sweep over the Bruins. While the Sabres would go on to get swept in the second round, the goal stands among the team’s all-time greatest moments.
Sunday’s comeback win evoked memories of the May Day goal. While it wasn’t quite as dramatic, it might as well have been. A city and fanbase starved for glory got a small piece of it. Sure, it was just the first game. But it could be just enough to significantly alter the course of NHL history.
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Buffalo Has Boston on the Ropes
It may seem implausible to say that the Sabres have the Bruins on the ropes after one game. But the way momentum plays such a huge role in sports, it’s not out of the question. The Bruins had seemingly locked up the game by the 52-minute mark on Sunday.
But as the adage goes in hockey, teams have to play a full 60 minutes. The Bruins didn’t play a full 60 minutes; the Sabres did. And those eight minutes or so were enough for Buffalo to turn things around.
The momentum is now on the Sabres’ side with a crushing force that will take a herculean effort to derail. The only thing that could crush Buffalo’s enthusiasm would be a devastating blowout win. The Bruins would have to come back in Game 2 with something like a 10-1 win to deflate the sails out of Buffalo’s ship.
Unless the Bruins can somehow come up with a statement to blow the Sabres out of the water, this series could be over very soon.
Sabres Game 1 ‘May Day’ Win over Bruins Could Spark Cup Run