Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR 550) - The Buffalo Sabres got a very important regulation win on Friday night over the Philadelphia Flyers at KeyBank Center. Jack Quinn scored two goals, while Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen was strong in net with 31 saves in a 4-2 victory.
It was a slow start for the Sabres offense once again, but after killing off an early Bowen Byram slashing penalty, Tage Thompson gave Buffalo a 1-0 lead midway through the first period.
It was another low chance start to the second period for the Sabres after killing off another penalty.
After some additional pressure from the Flyers, they finally came through with the tying goal at the 9:07 mark, as Noah Cates scored to make it 1-1. After the goal, Sabres head coach Don Granato called timeout to give the team a very animated message on the bench.
Coming out of the timeout, the message was heard, as Buffalo got their lead right back with Rasmus Dahlin scoring his 19th goal of the year on a wrister in the slot.
Then with just 5.1 seconds left in the period, Quinn extended the Sabres' lead to 3-1 on another wrister up the middle.
After the Sabres' timeout, Buffalo outshot the Flyers, 7-1, to end the period.
Philadelphia cut the Sabres' lead to 3-2 as Owen Tippett scored on a point shot through traffic in front.
Later in the third, Quinn got his second of the night and an important goal to extend the Sabres' lead to 4-2 in the final minutes of the third period.
The Flyers pulled their goaltender for the final four minutes of play, but neither team could add to their total with the game finishing at 4-2.
With the win, Buffalo continues to hold on to their slim playoff chances with five games remaining on the schedule.
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SCORING RECAP
First Period:
BUF: 10:01 - Tage Thompson (28) (JJ Peterka, Alex Tuch)
PHI: NONE
Second Period:
BUF: 14:51 - Rasmus Dahlin (19) (Tage Thompson, Alex Tuch); 19:54 - Jack Quinn (6) (Zach Benson, Owen Power)
PHI: 9:07 - Noah Cates (5) (Owen Tippett, Cam York)
Third Period:
BUF: 13:59 - Jack Quinn (7) (Zach Benson, Dylan Cozens)
PHI: 9:19 - Owen Tippett (28) (Travis Sonheim, Scott Laughton)
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Losi & Gangi Three Stars of the Game:
1.) Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen - BUF
2.) Jack Quinn - BUF
3.) Tage Thompson - BUF
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What's next:
The Sabres head out for the first of two games on the road for an Sunday afternoon match up with the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena. Faceoff is slated for 1 p.m. ET with pregame coverage on WGR starting at 12 p.m. ET with Brian Koziol.