By Mike Harrington 

Maxim Afinogenov has just three goals on the season, none in the last five games. He keeps giving away the puck, as his team-worst minus-9 rating shows.

When yet another giveaway led to the Boston Bruins’ first goal Saturday night, Afinogenov found a seat on the bench for most of the third period of the Buffalo Sabres’ 2-1 loss at TD Banknorth Garden.

The Sabres were totally dominating play with a 32-11 advantage in shots on goal when Afinogenov was stripped at the Boston line by Marco Sturm, who eventually broke down the ice and scored on a Marc Savard pass with 1:44 left in the second period.

“It’s a bad play by me and I have to take credit for that,” Afinogenov said. “I made the mistake and I got benched. [Coach Lindy Ruff] was right.”

Daniel Paille got the bulk of Afinogenov’s ice time in the third period and scored the Sabres’ only goal. Afinogenov, meanwhile, admitted he’s struggling to score but knows he’s not alone.

“It’s not going my way right now but I’m just trying to keep working,” he said. “We all are. If we play like that, someday the puck is going in. We got a lot of shots, a lot of good chances. There’s nothing we can do right now. We just have to keep working.”