Sabres Classics: Sabres close out Flyers in Game 6 of 2006 Quarterfinals

Following a convincing 3-0 win over the Philadelphia Flyers in Game 5 of the 2006 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, the Buffalo Sabres entered Game 6 with a chance to eliminate the Flyers on the road.

Buffalo had lost both previous matches in Philadelphia and the team was well aware of the challenges ahead of them.

"Losing a couple of games was a good experience for us," head coach Lindy Ruff said afterwards. "Not that you want to lose games, but you realize how difficult it is to win game-in, game-out. We got careless, sloppy and weren't able to make the plays in a close game that allowed us to win."

The Sabres never put themselves in a bad position Game 6.

They scored three goals in the first period thanks to Mike Grier, Ales Kotalik and Derek Roy. Jason Pominville and Maxim Afinogenov made it 5-0 before the Flyers managed to get on the board.

Co-captain Chris Drury closed out the scoring with a pair of goals to give Buffalo a 7-1 win and their first playoff series victory since 2001.

The game will air Thursday night on "Sabres Classics" on MSG at 8 p.m. and live on the MSG Go app. It will be available online on Friday.

Both Grier (1+3) and Drury (2+2) recorded postseason career-highs with four points each.

Ryan Miller made 21 saves to earn his fourth win of the playoffs.

"We wanted to come out strong," Pominville said. "We knew they were going to come out strong because their backs were to the wall. We got the first one and the crowd went down a little bit. We just kept working at it and got the next two late in the period."

Buffalo advanced to face the Ottawa Senators in the 2006 Eastern Conference Semifinals.