Before closing out the new year, the Bruins bucked a trend for one night.

After the last few weeks of seeing cellar dwellers like the Islanders, Maple Leafs and Avalanche have their way on TD Garden ice, the Bruins finally got on the right end of the scoreboard against a team beneath them in the standings. From puck drop, the Black and Gold paced themselves and earned a 3-1 win over the Sabres, who find themselves last in the Eastern Conference. With the win, the B’s are back to .500 at home with a 9-9-0 mark.

Here is what we learned after the Bruins swept the regular season series from the Sabres for the first time in franchise history.

A better start

Although they found their way to come from behind in Columbus from three goals down – only to fall short of their comeback effort – and by two at Buffalo, the last thing the Bruins wanted was to play from behind.

Unlike the last two nights, it didn’t take them long to play with the lead.

Just 88 seconds into the contest, Frank Vatrano ripped wrist shot – on a Zdeno Chara feed – from the slot past Robin Lehner for the game’s first goal. The tally also happened to be first career goal at TD Garden for the East Longmeadow native.

They were off and running from there.

From Patrice Bergeron notching a key power play goal and Tim Schaller finding the net after against his former team to the energy and consistency in all three zones, the Bruins got that well-rounded effort that they preached about beforehand.

“It’s something that we talked about yesterday in practice, and it’s something that we even talked about before the game today,” Bergeron said after notching his seventh of the season at 7:04 of the second period. “You know, you can’t say enough about that. You get the momentum right off the bat. You get that big goal by Frankie [Vatrano]. You have to keep being on your toes [after the first goal], but it gives you the confidence going forward and be engaged in a game.”

Yet another interruption

Kevan Miller and Evander Kane were seperated by the linesmen in the second period of the Bruins’ 3-1 win over the Sabres. (Photo by Joe Makarski, Bruins Daily)

For three straight games involving the Bruins, two willing combatants were interrupted after they literally dropped the gloves.

The first two instances saw Adam McQuaid’s bouts broken up by linesmen against Josh Anderson and Will Carrier. The latter event in Buffalo saw Carrier land a couple of punches on a defenseless McQuaid putting all parties in danger.

On Saturday, Kevan Miller and Evander Kane were hoping to settle a score during another physical contest between the Bruins and Sabres. Instead, the linesmen again got in the way before they engaged with one another. Both received a minor penalty for roughing while Kane was also given a 10-minute misconduct during the second period sequence.

“What happened with Quaider [McQuaid] was not a good thing…and today I think it was a little different,” Miller said postgame. “I think [Kane] was excited to fight when the referees came in and not before, so that’s all I’m really going to say about that.”

Miller’s head coach may not have an answer to the last few fights being interrupted as well, but he may be onto something.

“We haven’t had a memo saying that we’re doing this or we’re doing that. That’s something that it’s better for someone else to answer,” Claude Julien said. “Maybe they’re trying to avoid scuffles. You know, they talk about concussions and they talk about different things, and maybe they’re mandating that. I don’t know, I’m speaking out of thinking of what I’m seeing is that they’re trying to avoid those things. There are concussions that happen because of fights, so if they can step in quickly, their mandate is to try and avoid those things.”

At a time where the league seems to be cracking down on fighting, the grey area is providing a risky situation for the officials and the players willing to drop the gloves.

Bruins honor Laing, Falmouth hockey players

Denna Laing dropped the ceremonial puck today.

This past week, Denna moved out of her rehab facility & is now back home with her family. pic.twitter.com/sQUku7lnEC

— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) December 31, 2016

Last New Year’s Eve during the women’s outdoor classic between the NWHL’s Boston Pride and CWHL’s Montreal Canadiennes, Denna Laing suffered an unfortunate spinal injury that has since left her paralyzed. Through countless months of rehab, the inspirational Laing was able to home from her rehab hospital not too long ago.

As unfortunate as Laing’s end of 2015 was 2016’s ending provided a smile on her face. As part of the pregame ceremony, the Marblehead native was front and center with Zdeno Chara and Brian Gionta to drop the puck for the ceremonial faceoff. A video montage of Laing’s recovery was also included during the festivities.

Prior to the pregame festivities, the Bruins honored two Falmouth High School hockey players who’s lives were tragically taken from a car accident after their practice. The numbers of the late James Lavin (10) and Owen Higgins (19) were hung on the Bruins bench during warmups.

#NHLBruins honored Falmouth High School hockey players James Lavin and Owen Higgins prior to the game. pic.twitter.com/mVf6pacN18 — Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) December 31, 2016

On to 2017

The Bruins ring in 2017 on Monday for their second matchup of the season against Corey Schneider and the New Jersey Devils in Newark. They’ll return home on Thursday against the Oilers – when they see Connor McDavid for the first time in his career – before embarking on another four-game road trip.