Jack Quinn scored twice to lead the Buffalo Sabres to a 5-3 victory over the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday at KeyBank Center. The win marks Buffalo's third straight triumph and extends their streak to 13 victories in 14 games, a franchise first. Anaheim, meanwhile, extended its losing skid to nine games.
The Buffalo Sabres improved to 24-15-4 with the win, showcasing their recent dominance. Tage Thompson contributed a goal and an assist, while Peyton Krebs dished out two assists. Goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen stopped 31 shots to secure the victory.
For the Ducks, who fell to 21-21-3, Leo Carlsson notched a goal and an assist, and Lukas Dostal made 27 saves in the loss.
The game started quickly for Buffalo. Quinn opened the scoring at 2:03 of the first period, capitalizing on a 2-on-1 break with a feed from Ryan McLeod, firing high over Dostal's glove from the right circle to make it 1-0.
At 7:22 of the first, Krebs set up Thompson alone at the far post for a tap-in, extending the lead to 2-0. The play began with Josh Doan stealing the puck high in the zone and passing to Krebs.
The Sabres pulled ahead further in the third period. Bowen Byram jumped into the slot to receive a pass from Thompson behind the net and snapped a shot off the post and in at 7:09, making it 3-0.
Anaheim responded late. Kaiden Zellweger slipped a backhand through Luukkonen's pads at 15:16 on a feed from Jackson LaCombe, cutting the deficit to 3-1.
Quinn struck again 44 seconds later at 16:00, beating Dostal far side from above the right circle to restore the three-goal lead at 4-1.
Carlsson narrowed the gap to 4-2 at 18:02 with a wrist shot from the left circle that deflected off Rasmus Dahlin's stick and over Luukkonen's glove.
With Dostal pulled for an extra attacker, Ryan McTavish scored at 19:12, beating Luukkonen glove side to make it 4-3. Josh Norris sealed the win with an empty-net goal at 19:49.
Buffalo's hot streak contrasts sharply with Anaheim's struggles, highlighting the Sabres' push toward the top of the standings.