Quinn Scores Twice to Vault Sabres to 4-2 Victory Over Flyers

Jack Quinn looked himself again in the 4-2 Buffalo Sabres win at home over the Philadelphia Flyers. Quinn scored the eventual game-winning and insurance goals for the Sabres in a game where Buffalo needed pushback to overcome a hard-working Flyers squad.

The first goal came from the red-hot JJ Peterka, Tage Thompson, and Alex Tuch line, as a great pass by Peterka ended up on Thompson’s stick across the offensive zone. He made a filthy deke on Ivan Fedotov and slid the puck in the open net.

Tage Thompson opens the scoring with a little razzle dazzle, 1-0 #LetsGoBuffalo #LetsGoFlyers pic.twitter.com/zUY6kTZPmj

— Buffalo Hockey Moments (@SabresPlays) April 5, 2024

The Flyers were relentless on Buffalo and by the 10:03 mark in the second period they were outshooting the Sabres 24-5. The 24th shot for Philadelphia was a goal by Noah Cates, after a series of turnovers on breakout attempts by Buffalo.

Head coach Don Granato immediately called a timeout and laid into his team. The move paid off, as the Sabres responded with goals by Rasmus Dahlin and Quinn and outshot the Flyers 7-0 for the remainder of the period.

Owen Tippett made things dicey in the third, as his shot from the point deflected up and over Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen’s shoulder. The Sabres didn’t waver though, and Quinn’s second of the night with 6:01 left in the period sent the Flyers into desperation mode.

Four minutes of empty-net play that resulted in no change to the scoreboard gave the Sabres the win.

Impact Players

Jack is back. This was Quinn’s best game since his most recent return from injury without a doubt. While the Peterka-Thompson-Tuch line created two goals and outscored their issues, Quinn’s line with Zach Benson and Dylan Cozens stepped up in a big way.

Granato reiterated postgame that the ramping-up period for Quinn was immediate game action, which is why he is just now getting back to form.

When Quinn’s on, he’s a major piece of the secondary scoring that Buffalo’s been missing with Peterka’s recent promotion. If he, Benson, and Cozens can chip in offensively, the Sabres may be able to do some damage on the upcoming road trip.

Must Read: Peterka With Thompson and Tuch Is Not The Answer

The Difference

The Flyers outworked, outshot, and out-chanced the Sabres. The difference in the game was goaltending.

Luukkonen was his usual self – calm, collected, and swift. He had some big saves, resulting in a 1.22 goals saved above expected per Evolving-Hockey.

On the other hand, Philadelphia gave newcomer Ivan Fedotov his first career NHL start. He was not very good. He misread the play on Thompson’s goal and then was beaten clean by Dahlin and Quinn on the next two.

Head coach John Tortorella’s hand was a bit forced, with Samuel Ersson’s play dipping lately. He had a tired goalie and needed his backup to come through. Fedotov was not the answer though.

What’s Next

The Sabres head to Detroit after practice tomorrow to face the Red Wings on Sunday. Detroit lost on Friday as did the Washington Capitals, placing Buffalo four points out of the final Wild Card spot. One final matchup against Washington remains next week, making these last five games a lot more interesting for the Sabres.