BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) – Alex Auld made 44 saves, and Marc Savard had a goal and assist to lift the Boston Bruins to a 4-1 win over the Buffalo Sabres on Monday night.

Auld was spectacular in his second straight win for the Bruins after being acquired from Phoenix on Thursday. He made several scintillating saves in the second and third periods when Boston was outshot by a 33-15 margin.

P.J. Axelsson, Peter Schaefer and Glen Metropolit also scored for the Bruins, who won their second straight and third in five games.

Jaroslav Spacek scored for Buffalo, which lost for the fourth time in six games. Sabres goalie Ryan Miller finished with 17 saves.

The Bruins’ struggling offense scored three goals on their first five shots. Coming in, Boston had scored just 11 times in its last five games.

Savard got things going with his sixth of the year 6:29 in when he picked off Sabres defenseman Toni Lydman’s cross-ice pass and sent a wrist shot into the net.

Axelsson made it 2-0 with his fourth just 44 seconds later, beating Miller with a quick wrist shot from the slot.

Spacek scored his seventh goal, on the power play, to cut the deficit in half. Tim Connolly’s slap shot from the point was initially stopped by Auld, but Paul Gaustad slid the rebound over to Spacek, who scored from the bottom of the right circle.

The Bruins regained their two-goal cushion on Schaefer’s fifth 70 seconds later. Schaefer scored from the right circle after another Lydman turnover.

After a scoreless second period, Metropolit scored his seventh at 10:08 of the third, banking home a rebound after Miller stopped Milan Lucic’s shot.

Miller was shaken up after the goal and was tended to by a Buffalo trainer for about three minutes on the ice, but he remained in the game.

Notes: Bruins second-leading scorer Marco Sturm was hit in the head with the puck in the first period and didn’t return. … Boston G Tim Thomas continues to be sidelined with a groin injury. He missed his third game. … The Bruins will conclude a stretch in which they’ll have played 11 of 13 on the road Wednesday at Atlanta. They’re 7-4-1 thus far. … The Sabres began a stretch of four games in six days. … Bruins D Dennis Wideman extended his points streak to seven games when he picked up an assist on Axelsson’s goal. … Five of Spacek’s goals have been on the power play. … Lucic had two assists.

AP-ES-12-10-07 2144EST