Michael Ryder responded with two goals in Game 2. (AP)

The Bruins got what they needed in Buffalo.

Two wins would have been nice, but a split on the road is a nice consolation prize, and Bruins coach Claude Julien knows that Sunday’s 5-3 victory was a big one.

“Anytime you start off on the road you want to come back with at least a split,” Julien said after Bruins practice on Sunday afternoon. “We’ve done that, and now it’s our job to kind of maintain that home-ice advantage that we’ve acquired.”

Michael Ryder, who registered two goals in Sunday’s win, agreed.

“It’s definitely good to come back with the split up there in Buffalo, but it’s still a long series and we got to take advantage of that win and make sure we use our home-ice to our advantage,” said Ryder. “We know the fans are going to be behind us and it’s going to be pretty loud.”

Now, it’s up to the B’s to take advantage of the TD Garden ice, something that has been easier said than done this season. The Bruins were 18-17-6 this season on Causeway Street, but showed enough signs towards the end of the season that home woes may be a thing of the past.

“We won the last couple games, but the other games before that we lost we were dominant,” Julien said. “It’s not that we’ve played terrible here, it’s that we weren’t getting results here for a while. I think our team feels pretty confident in our home building.”

Heavy traffic in front of Ryan Miller proved to be key in Game 2. Can the Bruins keep it up in Game 3? (AP)

Another thing the Bruins should feel confident about is their ability to knock a few past Ryan Miller in Game 2. The possible Vezina Trophy winner only allowed four or more goals seven times in 69 games played this season, and a big reason why the Bruins had success was Ryder.

Ryder was a constant nuisance for Miller in front of the net, and his first goal was a direct result of traffic in front of the net. Ryder said  the Bruins need to keep blocking Miller’s vision and causing havoc in front of the net to keep getting on the board.

“I don’t think we are going to score four goals on him too often, but we got to keep doing the same things,” said Ryder. “We got to keep throwing pucks at the net in traffic. When he sees that first puck he usually makes that first save. We just got to make sure we limit him to coming out and challenging and trying to take his vision away. If he sees the puck, he’s going to save it and we did a good job of getting traffic and using screens to our advantage.”

The Bruins’ winger was scoreless in his previous 12 games before putting home a pair on Saturday, and Julien said when Ryder scores, the rest of his game starts to pick up.

“It’s like all goal scorers, when you get a couple of goals you get your confidence back,” Julien said. “When he gets going and he gets his confidence other things come out of his game.”

Ryder added: “Sometimes when I hit or get my feet moving to the net and get a little more physical towards the game things tend to happen a little better. That’s what I’ve been trying to do the last few games and it seems to be working.”