Alex Lyon shut down any Bruins hope of a comeback, stopping 24 of 25 shots to help the Sabres close out Boston with a 4-1 win in Game 6.
The Sabres set the tone early, determined to end the series on the road. Alex Tuch opened the scoring at 3:25 of the first period after Rasmus Dahlin skated deep into the Bruins zone, drew the attention of three Boston defenders before finding Tuch alone at the doorstep in front of goaltender Jeremy Swayman. Tuch buried the chance to make it 1-0.
Mattias Samuelsson doubled Buffalo’s lead at 12:26 with his second goal of the playoffs, firing a screened shot from just above the circles to give the Sabres a 2-0 advantage.
David Pastrnak cut the lead in half early in the second period with his third goal of the playoffs. On a two-on-one with Hampus Lindholm, Lindholm sent a cross-ice pass to the veteran winger, who beat Lyon with a wrist shot to trim the deficit to 2-1. That was the only goal of the second period, and Buffalo entered the third period clinging to a one-goal lead.
Zach Benson provided the insurance Buffalo needed at 5:58 of the third. Josh Doan made a terrific effort to track down a loose puck, outmuscling two Bruins defensemen before centering a pass to an uncovered Benson in the slot. The winger snapped the shot past Swayman to make it 3-1.
Josh Norris added an empty-net goal at 16:40 to finish the scoring at 4-1 and send the Sabres into the second round of the playoffs.
Buffalo now awaits the winner of the Montreal-Tampa Bay series.
