Sabres beat – Buffalo beat Boston 4-1 in Game 6, ending a long playoff stretch and advancing to the second round.
A late-series surge carried the Buffalo Sabres past the Boston Bruins, and with a 4-1 Game 6 win on Friday, the Sabres punched their ticket to the NHL’s second round for the first time since 2007.
Alex Tuch and Mattias Samuelsson scored in the first period to set the tone, and Zach Benson added another early in the third. Josh Norris later scored an empty-net goal, with Alex Lyon making 25 saves as Buffalo finished the series in six games.
For the Sabres, the advance is more than a single-game victory. It follows the end of a lengthy playoff drought and a strong regular season run, factors that helped set the stage for a deeper spring.
Buffalo’s postseason momentum now puts it on course to face the winner of the Montreal-Tampa Bay series. That matchup tightened up after Tampa Bay took a 1-0 overtime win in Montreal, forcing the second-round picture into a deciding seven-game format.
Meanwhile, tempers showed up when Benson tripped Charlie McAvoy with 1:31 remaining. McAvoy retaliated with a slash, and both players were sent to the penalty box, underscoring the intensity that defined a closely contested series.
That edge matters because playoff hockey often swings on small margins: early goals, controlled breakouts, and the ability to keep composure when the game turns physical. For Boston, the pressure of overcoming setbacks at crucial moments never fully eased.
The Bruins did find chances after falling behind in the third, with their attack creating moments in the Sabres’ zone. But Buffalo turned momentum into a decisive sequence: a poked-away puck sparked a break that ended with Zach Benson beating Jeremy Swayman to restore separation.
Boston, meanwhile, ends the postseason after a campaign that included a playoff berth in its first season under coach Marco Sturm. The loss also extended Boston’s difficult run at home in playoff games, while Buffalo moved on, propelled by speed, timely finishing, and a series-wide refusal to fade.
In the larger context, Buffalo’s return to the second round is a reminder that rebuilding arcs can accelerate quickly once a team finds its playoff rhythm, especially when early leads and disciplined execution start stacking together.