Bruins vs. Sabres: Don't Sleep on Boston Just Because They're the Wild Card

Let me tell you something about wild card teams in the first round of the playoffs: they don't care about your seeding.

And this Bruins squad? They're walking into Buffalo with something to prove.

Yeah, the Sabres finished with 109 points. Yeah, they've got the home ice. Yeah, everybody in the national media is picking Buffalo because it's the storyline — end of the drought, Buffalo finally back, all that. Great. Let 'em have their moment.

Meanwhile, the Bruins went 3-1 against this exact Sabres team during the regular season. Three and one. You don't do that by accident. You do that because you know how to play these guys, because you've found the gaps, because when it matters, Boston figures it out.

Nine playoff series. That's how many times these two franchises have met in the playoffs. And the Bruins have won the majority of them. This isn't some mystery opponent. This is a team Boston has been beating in big moments for decades.

Now look, I'm not saying it's going to be easy. Tage Thompson is a problem — big, physical, can score from anywhere. JJ Peterka is fast and dangerous on the wing. Buffalo isn't the same pushover franchise they've been for the last decade-plus. This is a real team.

But so are the Bruins.

Game 1 is April 19th in Buffalo, and every talking head is going to tell you Boston is the underdog, Boston doesn't belong, Boston got lucky to even make it. You know what? Let 'em talk. Wild card teams play loose. They play angry. They play like they've got nothing to lose.

Don't sleep on Boston. You've been warned.