The Buffalo Sabres are moving on, and they have a former Detroit Red Wings goaltender to thank. Alex Lyon turned aside 25 shots Friday night, leading Buffalo to a commanding 4-1 victory over the Boston Bruins in Game 6 of their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series. The win clinched the series for the Sabres and punched their ticket to the conference semifinals for the first time since 2007.

From the opening puck drop, Buffalo set the tone. Alex Tuch and Mattias Samuelsson scored in the first period, staking the Sabres to a 2-0 lead they would never relinquish. Zach Benson and Josh Norris added insurance goals in the third period, while Tage Thompson and Rasmus Dahlin each chipped in with two assists. The Sabres swept all three games played in Boston during the series, a remarkable feat against a team that boasted one of the league's best home records.

"To (win the series) on the road – against a team that played so well at home, one of the better home records in the league – I thought our guys dug in and gave us a heck of a game tonight," Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff said.

David Pastrnak scored the lone goal for Boston, and Jeremy Swayman stopped 22 shots in the losing effort. The Bruins, who entered the postseason with high expectations, struggled to find their rhythm in front of their home crowd. "We felt the pressure being at home," Bruins coach Marco Sturm said. "We feel the pressure because we care. We wanted to prove people wrong."

Buffalo struck quickly, needing just 3:25 to score on their first shot. Tuch was waiting at the top of the crease to redirect Dahlin's centering pass from the left circle past a trailing Swayman. After the game's first power play ended, Lyon kept the momentum on Buffalo's side with a series of huge saves in the middle stages of the first period, including a stop on Casey Mittelstadt's break-in attempt and a follow-up chance off a Morgan Geekie feed.

"Can't get much better than that," Tuch said about Lyon. "He was lights-out. He was in the zone. Attacked every opportunity they threw at him. Steady Eddy. Gives the bench a lot of confidence when you got a guy like that playing the way he was."

Samuelsson doubled the lead at 12:26 of the first, sending a long shot from above the left circle that found its way through traffic. The Sabres finished 0-for-4 on the power play, but it didn't matter—Boston never had a man advantage all night. For Buffalo, this series win marks a major step forward and a return to relevance in the Eastern Conference playoffs.