OK, heard enough about the Boston Bruins missing the playoffs each of the past two seasons by one point? No. Ok, want one team to single out both seasons as a good reason why? Or one game each year as a specific reminder why two points were squandered?

Here’s your asterisk to keep it fresh for the next five months.

On March 17, 2015 – yep, St.Paddy’s Day – the Black and Gold laid an egg in a gimme game against the lowly Buffalo Sabres, losing 2-1 in a season in which they went 24-10-7 at TD Garden.

Last season, it was December 26 when the Sabres followed Santa to Causeway Street. The Bruins took a 3-1 lead into the third period before black rubber turned to left-over coal as the Sabres stuffed the B’s with five unanswered goals in a 6-3 romp.

So here we are on November 7, the eve of the national election, with all exit polls pointing toward the Bruins trumping the Sabres in the first of four tilts against their long-time and division rivals.

This one had all the makings of another tough tilt at TD for the home team. The Sabres came in as one of the best road teams at 4-1-2 (along with Boston at 5-2-0), coming off a 2-1 win Saturday night in Ottawa, while Boston fell to 1-3-0 at home in their 5-2 loss to the Rangers.

The Bruins at 6-5-0 overall; Buffalo at 5-4-2.

The rebuilding and rejuvenated Sabres were without Jack Eichel and Evander Kane. Advantage Boston.

The Bruins power play entered 3-for-38 or 7.9 percent and 29th in the NHL. Advantage Buffalo.

Here’s what we learned as Boston went to 2-3-0 at home and 7-5-0 overall, taking the first two points of the season against Buffalo.

Power play goals and a solid second period? Believe it.

Two Bruins’ nemeses thus far? Second-period play and that woeful power-play production.

Not on Monday night.

At 5:44 of the second period on their second man-advantage of the game, Brad Marchand poked a dribbler by Robin Lehner for the 1-0 lead; David Pastrnak and Matt Beleskey assisting. It was Marchand’s fifth goal and 14th point.

Then at 7:50, David Backes took a stick to the chops by Zemgus Girgensons for a double minor. At 9:16, Jake McCabe got two for tripping and two for unsportsmanlike conduct. And Boston was off to the races with a 5-on-3.

Twenty-eight seconds later, it was 2-0 when David Krejci whistled a 25-footer past Lehner; Ryan Spooner and Torey Krug assisting.

“Hopefully, he can build on that and he can gain some confidence or whatever – some mojo,” Julien said about Krejcis’s first goal of the season. “When he’s on his game, he’s one of the most dangerous players on our team.”

At the seven-minute mark, Sabres’ captain Brian Gionta went in solo on Rask, who denied the all-time Boston College goal scorer’s bid to cut the lead in half.

At 14:41, Riley Nash scored, unassisted, to put the home team up by three when his shot deflected off a Buffalo skate.

Boston outshot the Sabres, 15-5, in that period.

Pastrnak would rip a rebound of an Austin Czarnik blast past Lehner at 9:45 of the third for Boston’s third power play goal of the game and his eighth of the season to lead all Bruins in goal scoring.

Those three goals equaled the entire power play output in the previous 11 games.

“Just worked on it this morning,” Claude Julien said about the power-play production that led to his 400th career win, “Gave them the due responsibility, as some of the best players on our team that they had to step it up so they did that tonight.

“In order to be successful, you have to outwork the penalty kill. That’s always been the case.”

Rask task remains front and center

Sabres came out flying with 10 shots on Rask in the first 10 minutes. They would only have eight in the next 20; 32 overall. None would get by No. 40.

The 2014 Vezina Trophy winner has been the difference maker for the Bruins this season; the B’s are 7-1-0 in games started by Rask and winless in games not started by Rask (0-4-0). His 6-0-0 start into Saturday’s loss was the best season-opening win streak for a Bruins goaltender since Tim Thomas opened the 2010-11 season with eight straight wins.

“If you look at the stats probably,” Rask said about it being his best start in a Bruins’ uniform. “It’s got to be one of the best starts. Usually I think the starts are the worst part of my season.”

The shutout was Rask’s 32nd, passing Tim Thomas for No. 3 in that category, three behind Frank Brimsek. Not likely anyone eclipses Tiny Thompson’s 74.

Firsts

Krejci and Nash’s first goals of the season; Beleskey’s first point.

“He seemed like a more determined player right now,” Julien said about Beleskey’s play. “Sometimes, you know, you need to sit out and miss the game a little bit or whatever to really spark things.”

The Bruins are hoping Jimmy Hayes is getting that message. He was a healthy scratch once again with a log that reads 0-0-0.

It was also Boston’s first shutout over the Sabres since a 1-0 win on January 29, 2000 with Byron Dafoe between the pipes.

First-goal drought reversed

Marchand’s goal was the sixth straight game in which the Black and Gold scored first after coughing up the first goal in its first six games.

Tale of opposite D-corps facts:

After 12 games, Colin Miller, John Michael Liles, Adam McQuaid and Torey Krug are a combined minus-20 with no goals and five assists.

At the other end — and likely the tallest blue-line paring in NHL history in 6-foot-9 Zdeno Chara and 6-foot-5 Brandon Carlo — playing at a combined plus-17 with three goals and four assists.

Busy B’s

Monday’s game was the first of five games next seven days with three more five-game weeks in store. Tomorrow night it’s a trip to Montreal.

Rarely does a goaltender play in back-to-back games.

“I can’t answer that right now,” Julien said when asked if Rask will be in net Election night.

“Yeah, for sure,” Rask said a few minutes later when asked if he’s physically ready for Montreal. “We’ll see what the decision will be. It’s one of those games I don’t think any player really wants to miss because it’s a big rivalry and they’re a great team. Definitely don’t want to miss that, but we’ll see.”

Bet on Rask being back at it within 24 hours as another nemesis looms.