Sabres, and their fans, make themselves at home in Boston throughout Game 4 win

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The early goal was one thing, but the pop from the crowd was another. The Bruins were tied for the most home wins in the NHL during the regular season. This is supposed to be one of the toughest arenas in the NHL for a visiting team to play in. And yet after the Sabres’ first goal, it was clear Buffalo fans had traveled well. By the time Josh Doan scored to put the Sabres up 2-0, Bruins fans were stunned into silence while Sabres fans were celebrating all around them. The “SWAY-MAN” chants started at that point, taunting the home goalie. Then came the loud and noticeable, “Let’s go, Buffalo!” chants. Bruins fans didn’t have much of a retort, either. The Sabres continued to pour it on in the first period, getting goals from Zach Benson and Bowen Byram to take a 4-0 lead on their way to a 6-1 win. Buffalo’s forecheck was suffocating. Three of its four first-period goals were scored off forced turnovers. The Sabres now lead the playoffs with 10 goals within 10 seconds of a turnover, according to Sportlogiq. “You come on the road, especially a place like Boston — they’ve got a good building that gets loud and gets behind their team,” Byram said. “It was awesome to see the fan support that traveled all the way to come here and support us. It’s a lot of fun playing in front of them, and I think we’re all pretty excited to get back to our rink for Game 5.” When the Sabres traveled to Boston on Wednesday, the series was tied at one game apiece. The Sabres had followed up a dramatic comeback win in Game 1 with a dud of a 4-2 loss in Game 2. Ruff changed goalies, made a few lineup tweaks and otherwise stayed calm. He said that after Game 2, he didn’t want his players doubting that they could go into Boston and win games. It turns out he was on to something. The Sabres earned a hard-fought 3-1 win on Thursday. Then, after two days off, they beat the brakes off the Bruins to take control of the series. Bruins fans booed their team off home ice at the end of the first period. By the time the Sabres had put the finishing touches on a 6-1 win, Bruins fans were heading for the exits, leaving Sabres fans to celebrate at TD Garden. Sabres fans stuck around to give the team a standing ovation as the players skated off the ice. “That’s the Buffalo community,” Benson said. “Obviously, it’s a sports town. They have our back.” During the afternoon, the “Blade Gang,” a group of Sabres fans who have been at every playoff game home and away with rollerblades and full gear, were outside of TD Garden and rolling through North Station. This is a fan base reveling in the first playoff experience in 15 years, and the Sabres have given them plenty to get excited about. “Our fans have been great. I can’t say enough about how well-traveled they were in the last half of the year, in the regular season, and now in a playoff building,” Ruff said. “I’ve seen the Blade Gang come to town, pretty cool; I’d actually like to play with those guys. I think it’s the number of years where our fans are really enjoying this. It’s great to see. I had friends that drove from three, four hours away, that live in Buffalo, that wanted to get to the game. They got to the game, and I imagine that’s only gonna get greater if we keep going along.” Between the Red Sox firing nearly their whole coaching staff and Mike Vrabel stepping away from the Patriots on Day 3 of the NFL Draft, Boston sports fans were looking to the Bruins for a bit of a reprieve from the onslaught of bad sports news. The Sabres didn’t cooperate. In the first period, the Sabres outshot the Bruins 19-5. At one point, the Sabres had more goals than the Bruins had shots. “We should be embarrassed,” Bruins coach Marco Sturm said. “Because it’s embarrassing.” Now the Sabres get to head back to Buffalo with a chance to finish the series on home ice in Game 5. In the postgame locker room, players had already turned the page on Sunday’s win. While Bruins players were offering up profanity-laced explanations for what happened, the Sabres were already focusing on Game 5 on Tuesday. “The test is going to be to keep our emotions in the right place, keep our will in the right place, stay mentally strong and stay poised and in the moment,” Sabres goalie Alex Lyon said. “That’s the key to the playoffs. The series is far from over. We have a big 60 minutes on Tuesday. I’m already thinking about it.” For a team without much playoff experience, the Sabres looked plenty comfortable playing in a hostile environment on the road. They walked into TD Garden, popped off their shoes and put their feet up on the Bruins’ coffee table. And they had a few thousand of their friends there ready to party with them. Now they get to play in front of their rowdy home crowd in Game 5 with a chance to finish the series. “The Buffalo fans have treated us well for a really long time now … There’s Buffalo fans everywhere seemingly,” Lyon said. “We’re happy about that. To me, it’s about staying in the moment. The best thing we can do to reward them is to continue to play.” Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms