Hasek, Sabres Finish Off Bruins

It’s final. Buffalo and Toronto will meet in the playoffs for the first time to decide who will face off for the Stanley Cup.

The Sabres advanced to the Eastern Conference finals against division rival Toronto with a 3-2 victory over the Boston Bruins in Game 6 on Tuesday night.

The fans chanted, “We want the Leafs!” as the Sabres smothered the Bruins’ offense and wound down a relatively easy night for injured goaltender Dominik Hasek.

The Sabres will play the Maple Leafs in Game 1 on Sunday in Toronto.

“It’s going to cost me a lot in tickets,” said Sabre defenseman and Toronto native Jason Woolley.

Michael Peca, Wayne Primeau and Curtis Brown scored and Geoff Sanderson had a pair of assists as Buffalo limited Boston to 25 shots on Hasek, five in the second period.

Like Woolley, Peca grew up as a Maple Leaf fan. “Jason and I were talking about the Toronto fans celebrating and honking their horns after they won the other night,” Peca said. “That used to be us.”

Hasek showed no ill effects of an old groin injury that flared up in Buffalo’s loss in Game 5, but the Sabres didn’t let the Bruins test him too much. “My groin is pretty stable,” Hasek said. “It’s still not 100% OK, but it was good enough to win.”

Steve Heinze tied the score for Boston in the first period and Joe Thornton threw a scare into Buffalo by scoring with a minute to play.

Boston had the flow going its way in the third, launching 13 shots.

“Dom had a fabulous third period,” Buffalo Coach Lindy Ruff said. “He steadied the ship.”

Goalie Byron Dafoe made 18 saves for Boston, which lost three straight after winning the first game at home. The Bruins have never come back to win a series after being down, 3-1. The Sabres have won their last two playoff series against Boston, including a sweep in 1993.

“It’s nice to win two rounds, but our goal is to win the next round,” said Hasek, whose team got off to a fast start and gained a territorial advantage for two periods with physical play and speed. “There’s a long way to go.”

Buffalo reached the Eastern Conference finals for the second straight year. The Sabres lost to the Washington Capitals in six games last season. Toronto advanced to the conference finals for the first time since 1994 by wrapping up the series against Pittsburgh in six games with a 4-3 overtime victory on Monday night.

“We’re happy with the win but disappointed about what we did on defense in the last two minutes,” Hasek said.