Alex Lyon made 25 saves in his fourth straight start and the Buffalo Sabres earned a series-clinching, 4-1 victory in Game 6 against the Boston Bruins at TD Garden on Friday.
The series win is Buffalo’s first since 2007.
The Sabres will play the winner of the first-round series between Montreal and Tampa Bay, which is tied 3-3 with Game 7 set for Sunday. As Atlantic Division champions, the Sabres will own home-ice advantage over either opponent.
Alex Tuch and Mattias Samuelsson scored first-period goals to give the Sabres a 2-0 lead, which they never relinquished. Tage Thompson assisted on both goals, matching Tuch with a series-high seven points.
Zach Benson scored a third-period goal to provide added cushion. The play was made possible by the hustle of Josh Doan, who outraced two Bruins to a loose puck in the offensive end to set up Benson in front of the net.
Josh Norris added an empty-net goal in his return to the lineup. He’d been out since Game 2 with an undisclosed injury.
Lyon’s night included an early breakaway stop on Casey Mittelstadt, followed by a point-blank save on Elias Lindholm later in the first period. He’s stopped 106 of 111 shots (.955) since entering in relief during the third period of Game 2.
