Buffalo, which is the No. 1 seed from the Atlantic Division, will have home-ice advantage in the second round against either the Canadiens, who are the No. 2 seed from the Atlantic, or Lightning, who are the No. 3 seed. That best-of-7 series is going the distance after the Lightning won 1-0 in overtime on the road in Game 6 on Friday.
“It’s one step in the right direction. That’s it," forward Alex Tuch said. "Every team sets out in training camp to try to be the best at the end of the year, to try to hoist the Stanley Cup, so obviously that’s a goal for our team as well.
“We’re one round in the playoffs. In our eyes, we haven’t done anything yet. We’re going to enjoy this win, this series win, and we’re going to move on and be ready for whoever we play next. Because we’re hoping it’s a long road ahead for us.”
Tuch (four goals, three assists) and Tage Thompson (two goals, five assists) led the Sabres against the Bruins with seven points each. Forward Peyton Krebs (two goals, four assists) had six points, and defenseman Bowen Byram (three goals, two assists) had five.
Alex Lyon went 3-1 with a 1.14 goals-against average and .955 save percentage after taking over the starting role from Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen for Game 3. Luukkonen was 1-1 with a 4.19 GAA and .825 save percentage in Games 1 and 2.
“When you get a taste of winning, you just get hungrier and hungrier," Thompson said. "This is another stepping stone, another great achievement, but there’s still more ahead. ... Obviously, we’re going to enjoy what we accomplished tonight, but there’s still more to be done. That’s exciting. It’s been a long time, especially for me and [Rasmus Dahlin] being here. You get to this spot and you don’t know how many of these opportunities you’re going to get in your career. Take advantage of it and make the most of it.”
The Sabres and Canadiens split the four games they played during the regular season (2-2-0).
Thompson led Buffalo with seven points (three goals, four assists) in the four games, and forward Noah Ostlund had four points (one goals, three assists) in three games. Forward Zach Benson (one goal, two assists) and Dahlin (three assists) each had three points in four games.
Lyon was 0-2-0 with a 3.11 GAA and .902 save percentage in two starts. Luukkonen won his only start, allowing two goals on 34 shots in a 4-2 win on Jan. 22, and Colten Ellis won the other start, a 5-3 victory on Jan. 15.
Forward Nick Suzuki led Montreal with eight points (two goals, six assists) in the four games against Buffalo, and forward Cole Caufield had six points, including four goals. Defensemen Lane Hutson (one goal, three assists) and Noah Dobson (four assists) each had four points.
Jakub Dobes was 2-0-0 with a 2.00 GAA and .943 save percentage. Jacob Fowler was 0-1-0 with a 4.13 GAA and .846 save percentage, and Sam Montembeault was 0-1-0 with a 3.07 GAA and .813 save percentage.
The Sabres were 3-0-1 against the Lightning during the regular season.
Dahlin led Buffalo with eight points (two goals, six assists) in the four games, and Thompson (one goal, five assists) and Byram (six assists) each had six points. Tuch scored a team-high four goals.
Luukkonen was 3-0-0 with a 3.69 GAA and .890 save percentage in three starts. Lyon did not face them during the regular season.
Forward Nikita Kucherov (four goals, four assists) and defenseman Darren Raddysh (one goal, seven assists) each had eight points against the Sabres. Forward Jake Guentzel (two goals, two assists) and defenseman J.J. Moser (one goal, three assists) each had four points.
Andrei Vasilevskiy, who is a finalist for the Vezina Trophy, was 1-2-0 with a 4.60 GAA and .841 save percentage in three starts. Jonas Johansson was 0-1-0 with a 5.57 GAA and .857 save percentage in two games (one start).
The Sabres and Canadiens have played in the playoffs seven times, with Montreal winning four of the series. The two teams haven't met since 1998, when the Sabres swept the Canadiens in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
The Sabres and Lightning have never faced off in the postseason.
