Charles Mcavoy Leads Sabres Past Bruins 4-1 in Six Games

charles mcavoy and the Buffalo Sabres closed out the Boston Bruins 4-1 on Friday night at TD Garden, finishing the first-round series in six games. Buffalo got the result it needed on the road, and the win sends the Sabres into the second round after their first playoff series victory since 2007.

Sabres finish at TD Garden

Alex Tuch scored 3:25 into Game 6, and Buffalo never gave back control. Rasmus Dahlin set it up by taking the puck high in the zone, weaving down low and sending a pass across the front of the net, where Tuch finished for the opening goal.

Mattias Samuelsson added the game-winner in the first period, giving the Sabres the edge they carried through the rest of the night. Tuch led Buffalo with four goals in the series, while Dahlin finished Game 6 with two points.

Buffalo’s road wins matter

The series tilted in Boston because the Sabres won Games 3, 4 and 6 there as the visitor. That held up against a Bruins team that had the second-best home record in the regular season, and it pushed Buffalo through a building where the margin for error was thin.

Buffalo also arrived in the postseason with weight on its shoulders. The Sabres had not played in the playoffs since 2011, and this run came after they finished atop the Atlantic Division and entered the bracket as the second seed in the Eastern Conference draw.

Alex Lyon steadies Buffalo

Goaltending was part of the series answer. Alex Lyon posted a.955 save percentage and picked up three wins, while Buffalo used Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Lyon and Colten Ellis over the course of the year.

Lyon’s work in Game 6 included stopping a Casey Mittelstadt breakaway chance twice, and Game 2 brought another turning point when Morgan Geekie scored on Luukkonen off a dump-in from the red line before Lyon later entered. Buffalo carried that goalie mix into the finish and still left Boston with a series win, then advanced to face the winner of Tampa Bay and Montreal.