Sabres continue historic season with first series win in 19 years

Buffalo Sabres left wing Zach Benson (6) celebrates with teammates after scoring against the Boston Bruins during the third period of Game 6 of the first round of the 2026 Stanley Cup playoffs at TD Garden. Winslow Townson-Imagn Images

Sabres continue historic season with first playoff series win in 19 years

By Mike J. Asti | Last updated May 1, 2026 11:09 PM ET

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Ending a long drought just to get into the playoffs, the Buffalo Sabres take their historic season one step further on Friday night.

Buffalo's 4-1 win over the Boston Bruins capped off their first-round series in six games, sending the Sabres to the second round for the first time in 19 years.

The Sabres, who entered the playoffs after a 50-23-9 regular season, scored a pair of goals in both the first and third periods.

Alex Tuch opened up the scoring, getting the puck past Jeremy Swayman 3:25 into the game. Mattias Samuelsson scored another later in the period to give Buffalo a 2-0 lead.

Sabres weren't about to be denied a chance to clinch the series

And while David Pastrnak put the Bruins on the board with the long goal of the second period, the Sabres added two more to ensure victory in the third. Zach Benson tallies the third goal for the cushion, and Josh Norris finds the back of the net with an empty net goal at 16:10.

BURIED. pic.twitter.com/ab8rCHYMHg
— y - Buffalo Sabres (@BuffaloSabres) May 2, 2026

So even though both teams matched each other with 26 shots apiece, it was Buffalo's Alex Lyon who stopped more pucks and secured the series-clinching win for his team.

Sabres won a playoff series for the first time in 19 years

Before Friday night, the Sabres' last series win came in 2007 when that team advanced to the franchise's second consecutive Eastern Conference Finals appearance.

But the past doesn't matter anymore. It took Buffalo 14 years to return to the Stanley Cup Playoff and 19 years to win a postseason series, but all that matters now is that the 2026 Sabres are moving on as they hope to be the group that gets the Sabres into the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 1999 and then maybe even make more history by delivering Buffalo its first Stanley Cup championship.

Mike J. Asti

Mike Asti is an experienced media personality and journalist with a vast resume and skillset, most notably from time with TribLIVE Radio and WPXI-TV. Asti now serves as the Managing Editor of WV Sports Now, where he leads the coverage of WVU sports. He has also covered the Steelers, Penguins, Pirates and other teams within the Pittsburgh market

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