Sabres defeat Bruins, advance to second round

The Sabres jumped out to a 2-0 lead after Alex Tuch buried his fourth of the series just three minutes into the game, followed by Mattias Samuelsson scoring his second goal of the playoffs midway through the opening frame.

David Pastrnak scored his third of the series less than two minutes into the second period to cut the deficit to one, but the Sabres’ Zach Benson potted his second of the postseason to make it 3-1, with Josh Norris getting his first of the playoffs with an empty netter, sealing the win for Buffalo.

With the win, the Sabres advance to the second round of the playoffs for the first time since 2007, when a group led by Daniel Briere and Chris Drury — both currently NHL general managers — as well as Thomas Vanek and Ryan Miller, were able to reach the Eastern Conference Final.

The series opened with a Game 1 in Buffalo that fans will never forget. The Sabres were down 2-0 midway through the third, then scored four times in just under seven minutes to take a 1-0 lead.

The Bruins tied it up in Game 2, then Buffalo won both Games 3 and 4 in Boston, including a 6-1 victory in Game 4 that opened with a four-goal first period, ending the game before it really got going.

The Bruins stayed alive with a Game 5 win, thanks to a Pastrnak OT-winner, but the Sabres left nothing to chance in Game 6.

Buffalo now wait to see who they will face in the second round as the Lightning scored in overtime over the Canadiens Friday night to force a Game 7 on Sunday.