Torrid Sabres score on first shot, coast to win over Ducks

Jack Quinn scored two goals for the Buffalo Sabres in a 5-3 win over the visiting Anaheim Ducks on Saturday night.

Tage Thompson had a goal and an assist, Bowen Byram and Josh Norris also scored, Peyton Krebs and Zach Benson both had two assists and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 31 saves for the Sabres, who have won 13 of their past 14 games.

Leo Carlsson had a goal and an assist, Olen Zellweger and Mason McTavish also scored and Lukas Dostal made 27 saves for the Ducks, who have lost nine in a row and 13 of 15.

The Sabres scored on the first shot of the game.

Benson nudged the puck up the wall to Ryan McLeod in the neutral zone and he brought the puck into the Anaheim zone down the left-hand side before centering a pass to Quinn, who beat Dostal shortside from the bottom of the right circle for a 1-0 lead at 2:03 of the first.

Benson was awarded a penalty shot at 7:27 when he was hooked from behind by Radko Gudas on a breakaway, but Benson hit the post with his backhand attempt.

Buffalo took the 1-0 lead into the first intermission after outshooting the Ducks 13-7.

The Sabres could not capitalize on a 5-on-3 power play that lasted 1:07 early in the second period.

Dostal then made a stop on Alex Tuch on a short-handed 2-on-0 breakaway at 5:00.

Buffalo killed the penalty then took a 2-0 lead less than a minute later.

Josh Doan came from behind to steal the puck from Tim Washe in the Anaheim zone. Doan then got the puck to Krebs, who spotted Thompson at the far post and fed him a pass that he redirected into the net at 7:22.

Thompson had the puck behind the Anaheim net before he fired a pass into the slot to Byram, who scored with a one-timer to make it 3-0 at 7:09 of the third.

Zellweger spoiled Luukkonen's bid for his first shutout of the season when he scored between his pads to make it 3-1 at 15:16, but Quinn came back with his second goal of the game 44 seconds later to re-establish the three-goal lead at 4-1.

Carlsson scored from above the left circle when his shot was deflected by Tuch and hit the net to make it 4-2. McTavish then scored off a feed from Carlsson with Dostal pulled for the extra skater to cut it to 4-3 with 48 seconds left.

Norris scored into an empty net with 11 seconds left to seal the 5-3 win.

The Ducks played without the team's co-points leader, forward Troy Terry, for a second consecutive game.

--Field Level Media