Boston Bakes Hasek, Buffalo

March 21, 1998 / 7:10 PM EST / CBS/AP

Byron Dafoe doesn't have the big contract like Dominik Hasek. He hasn't won the most valuable player. He doesn't have three Vezina Trophies or an Olympic gold medal.

The Boston Bruins knew full well that Dafoe can be just as effective after he made 30 saves and helped them to a 2-1 victory over Hasek and the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday.

"I don't get all that geared up because it's Hasek or (Martin) Brodeur," Dafoe said. "On any given night, a goaltender can be player of the game. I just go into every game hoping I let in less than the guy at the other end."

Dafoe took advantage of a two-goal lead and faced few good scoring chances as the Bruins won their fourth straight games. Boston also extended its road unbeaten streak to seven games (4-0-3) and pulled four points ahead of Buffalo in the Eastern Conference.

Ray Bourque and Per-Johan Axelsson gave Dafoe a 2-0 lead in the first two periods. Derek Plante scored for Buffalo in the third, breaking Dafoe's scoreless streak at 144 minutes, eight seconds. The Bruins kept the pressure on Hasek, who also had 30 saves, for much of the third period.

"Any time you get a win against a guy like that, you can give yourself a little pat on the back," Dafoe said. "We got to him early. Once we have a lead, we're a pretty strong team. We proved that again."

The Bruins earned their 16th road victory of the season, four more than they had all last year. Boston has not lost away from home since Jan. 25 and improved to 7-2-1 in its last 10 games.

Going into the game, the Bruins were trying to keep the Sabres from catching them for fifth place in the conference. The two teams are trying to reach fourth place and earn home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

"We were outhit, outfought, and outskated," Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said. "We didn't have a lot of emotion. We were dead from the ankles up."

The tight-checking game was typical of many played between the Bruins and Sabres in recent years. Boston limited Buffalo's scoring chances in the beginning and settled into a defensive mode for much of the game.

"We've been close with them all year," Bruins coach Pat Burns said. "Every game with them has a playoff feel. Nobody really has been on top."

Bourque gave Boston a 2-0 lead with 8:39 left in the second period when he scored on a hard slap shot from just inside the blue line with the Bruins on the power play.

Axelsson had opened the scoring 4:34 into the game when he scored on the Bruins' first power-play. Axelsson swept untouched around the Buffalo net and beat Hasek to the opposite post with eight seconds remaining in the man advantage.

"We talked about coming out hard and being ready," Bourque said. "The team tht comes out awake has an advantage. When you go on the road for a game like this, being ready can get you a jump."