Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR Sports Radio 550/WNEM) - The Buffalo Sabres accomplished something on Saturday that had never been done before in franchise history: They won their 13th contest in 14 games.
The Sabres have also won their eighth game in nine home contests, and this one came in front of a sellout crowd.
Buffalo played well for 55 minutes, and got out to a 3-0 lead.
Jack Quinn scored just 2:03 into the game, converting a 2-on-1 pass from Ryan McLeod to break a slump that saw one goal in 19 games.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen was spectacular, and played with plenty of confidence in goal for the Sabres.
Buffalo blocked shots with desperation, and Josh Doan showed amazing effort, especially in the second period when he stripped Ducks forward Tim Washe of the puck and got it to Peyton Krebs. Krebs then put a perfect pass on Tage Thompson’s stick, as he went to the net and he tapped in his 22nd of the season.
In his last 15 games, Thompson has 10 goals and nine assists for 19 points.
Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff was very happy with all of that, but he was furious about the last five minutes of the game. He felt they were awful, and let their goaltender down. He felt that was unacceptable, as the Ducks scored three goals in 3:56.
Quinn interrupted the barrage with his second of the game to make it 4-1, but the Ducks made it 4-3 before Josh Norris put the puck into the empty net to win, 5-3.
The same thing happened in the Vancouver game on Tuesday in Buffalo. The Sabres took a 4-0 lead in the third period, and next thing you knew it was 4-3. The Sabres got an empty net goal to win that one too.
Luukkonen made 31 saves to help seal the win for Buffalo.
We got to see a penalty shot in this game in the first period, as Ducks captain Radko Gudas pulled down Zach Benson breaking in. He made a nice move on Lukas Dostal, went to the backhand and got the puck up, only to hit the post.
Around the NHL on Saturday, the Pittsburgh Penguins had their winning streak broken, which allowed the Sabres to jump into the No. 1 Wild Card position in the Eastern Conference with a points percentage of .605. The Pens still have the No. 2 Wild Card at .593.
The Sabres' points percentage also has them eighth overall in the NHL.
In the Atlantic Division, the Montreal Canadiens are in third place at .622.
Buffalo is home on Monday to face the Florida Panthers.
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