RED-HOT BUFFALO DEFEATS BOSTON

The way Ryan Miller and the Buffalo Sabres are closing out games could make them extremely tough to face a few weeks from now. Tyler Myers had a goal and set up Paul Gaustad’s score to lift the surging Sabres to their sixth win in seven games, 3-2 over the Bruins on Monday night in Boston. Miller made 40 saves, including Marco Sturm’s penalty shot in the first period and Mark Recchi’s shot from the edge of the crease as the final horn sounded, in a matchup of last month’s United States Olympic goaltenders. Tim Kennedy also scored for Buffalo, which moved to 1 point behind Pittsburgh for second in the Eastern Conference. The Sabres improved to 27-0-0 when leading after two periods but had to hold on after Dennis Seidenberg scored to make it 3-2 with 5 minutes 37 seconds to play. “It was really big for us, especially with the spot they’re in and the desperation they have,” Myers said. “It was a huge road win for us. As a team right now, we’re focused on moving forward.”