BOSTON – Fifty wins, 109 points and an Atlantic Division title are nice, but months ago, the Buffalo Sabres’ season became about a lot more than simply making the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Early in the winter, it became evident they possessed a special group and could wreak havoc in the postseason.

Their opening-round series victory only strengthened the belief can play long into the spring.

In winning 4-1 on Friday and disposing of the Bruins in six games, the Sabres won a playoff round for the first time since 2007 and sent a strong message to the rest of the NHL.

“I think Part A is getting to the playoffs,” Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said. “Part B is trying to have success once you get there. We talked about how hard this series was going to be and what a challenge it was going to be to take out a good team.”

The Sabres responded to that challenge throughout the series, winning all three games in TD Garden.

A team with 14 players who played their first playoff game in the series acquitted itself quite well, performing like a group of seasoned veterans.

“It was unreal,” Sabres captain Rasmus Dahlin said. “I liked how we attacked this series as a team, a lot of non-experienced guys just playing the way we did all series. … I love what we did in this series. It was special.”

Fresh off Tuesday’s 2-1 overtime loss in Buffalo, Ruff said he wanted keep his players away from the media and the mounting pressure to close out the series.

So instead of skating Friday morning, the Sabres stayed at the team hotel.

“It’s a group that hasn’t been here,” Ruff said. “I wanted to try to keep it relaxed. I told them, ‘We are going to win the game.’ I said, ‘We are going to win the series. We’re going to win the game. We’ve got to do some things better, but we’re going to win the game.’”

Hours later, the Sabres pounced on the Bruins early in Game 6 before a capacity crowd of 17,850 fans.

Like Sunday afternoon’s 6-1 win here, the Sabres had them on the ropes.

Winger Alex Tuch opened the scoring 3:25 into the game, beating Jeremy Swayman at the net after Dahlin maneuvered down low and fed him the puck.

Just over halfway through the period, goalie Alex Lyon stopped old friend Casey Mittelstadt on a short breakaway.

Defenseman Mattias Samuelsson made it 2-0 at 12:26, beating a screened Swayman from the left point.

In the waning minutes of the opening period, Lyon stymied Elias Lindholm alone in front.

“He likes the big moments, and he’s not afraid of them,” Sabres center Tage Thompson said of Lyon. “He stands on his head when we need him.”

After David Pastrnak’s one-timer from the left circle beat Lyon 1:54 into the second period, the Sabres did not flinch.

Winger Zach Benson sealed the game 5:58 into the third period, scoring from the slot after linemate Josh Doan fended off two Bruins as he approached the end wall to feed him the puck.

Center Josh Norris added a late empty-net goal.

Now, the Sabres must wait until Sunday – the Montreal Canadiens and Tampa Bay Lighting play Game 7 – to learn their second-round opponent.

For Tuch, who has the most postseason experience of any Sabres player, Friday’s win was simply “one step in the right direction.”

“That’s it,” he said.

Earlier in the season, as the Sabres heated up, Tuch raised the stakes, saying they wanted to win the Cup, not simply end their NHL-record 14-year playoff drought.

“We’re one round into the playoffs,” he said. “In our eyes, we haven’t done anything yet. We’re going to enjoy this win, this series win. 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, and it’s going to be a grind each and every day.”

Thompson said “when you get the taste of winning, you just get hungrier and hungrier.”

“This is another stepping stone, another great achievement, but there’s still more ahead,” he said. “I think our MO has been all year, just try to stay even-keeled. Obviously, we’re gonna enjoy what we accomplished tonight, but there’s still more to be done.”