The Buffalo Sabres had to wait 14 seasons to get back to the playoffs, but it has been much longer since fans had a chance to celebrate a series win. The last time that happened was back in 2007 when the Sabres beat the New York Rangers in the second round before losing to the Ottawa Senators in the Eastern Conference Finals that season.
However, they officially put an end to that drought on Friday night with their Game 6 victory over the Boston Bruins. They are now set to play either the Montreal Canadiens or the Tampa Bay Lightning in the next round.
On Friday night, the Sabres made sure they did not have a repeat of Game 5 as they made sure to jump out to an early lead, as Alex Tuch scored off a pass by Rasmus Dahlin, but added to it before the end of the first period. Later in the period, it was Mattias Samuelsson to get one past Jeremy Swayman for his second career playoff goal.
The Bruins would cut into the lead in the second with a goal by David Pasternak but the Sabres refused to let them get any closer with two goals in the third period for the win. These are some of the takeaways from the game on Friday night.
Buffalo Sabres forced to make some lineup changes ahead of Game 6
The Buffalo Sabres entered this game with changes among their forwards and blueline due to injuries and illness. Among the forwards, it marked the return of Josh Norris who was back at center between Zach Benson and Josh Doan in place of Noah Ostlund.
Ostlund initially replaced Norris after Game 2, as Norris was dealing with an injury. By the time he was set to return, Ostlund suffered an injury that would keep him out for an extended period of time. The line of Norris, Benson, and Doan was productive on Friday night with two of the four goals, including an empty net goal by Norris at the end.
Meanwhile, on the blueline the Sabres were without Logan Stanley as he is dealing with an injury. He would be replaced by Michael Kesselring, but the Sabres limited the rotation and spent a lot of the game rotating their Top 4 with Conor Timmins, as Kesselring had only five shifts and 4:25 of ice time.
Now with some time off before the next series, the Sabres should have Logan Stanley back in time and get back to the rotation they were using over the first five games of this series.
Alex Tuch with fourth goal of the series as his price tag is only going up
Alex Tuch has been one of the best players for the Sabres in this series against the Bruins and once again made his presence known early with the opening goal about three minutes into the game. The goal was his fourth of the series, and he now has seven points in these playoffs.
While Alex Tuch and the players are focused on going as deep as possible in the playoffs, for general manager Jarmo Kekalainen, the impending contract negotiations with Tuch have to be in the back of his mind. The Sabres were not able to reach an extension during the season, and he is set to be an unrestricted free agent this summer.
The way that Tuch has played in these playoffs, it is likely that every NHL team will be looking to sign him. It will put the Sabres in a tough spot if they hope to extend him after the season.
Josh Doan's hustle made Zach Benson's goal possible
In the third period, Zach Benson would score to push the Sabres' lead back to two goals, but it was really Josh Doan who was able to make that goal possible. The play began all the way back in the Sabres' zone, as the Bruins moved the puck around and Doan would force them to lose control at the blue line. The Bruins would mishandle the pass and the puck would start heading the other way.
As the puck was heading down the ice, Doan would outskate two Bruins' players, and in fact skate right between them, to get the puck and push it back to the front of the net. Zach Benson would be waiting right there to finish off the play and extend the Sabres' lead.
Benson has continued to make plays for the Sabres when they need it and now has two goals in the past three games.
Alex Lyon dominant on the road once again
Alex Lyon once again put together a stellar performance for the Buffalo Sabres and finished the game allowing only one goal on 26 shots. It was his fourth start in this series, but his third on the road, and he would win all three road starts in this series.
It is never easy to win on the road, but for Alex Lyon, it seems to come naturally to him as he won 10 straight road games earlier this season and came up one win short of the NHL record.
While the Sabres began the playoffs with Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen as their starting goalie, they can't move away from Lyon at this point. He has been excellent since taking over and has allowed only five goals in total over his four starts with a save percentage of .952.
It was an incredible performance by the Buffalo Sabres and their season moves on as they prepare to play either Montreal Canadiens or Tampa Bay Lightning in the next round.
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