Jack Quinn's 2 goals propel Sabres in must-win division game: Takeaways from Ottawa

OTTAWA, Ontario – Lindy Ruff and Rasmus Dahlin issued a reminder as the Sabres were gathered in the visitors’ dressing room before their game Thursday night in Canadian Tire Centre.

“We talked about the fact that we get to play all the teams that we need to catch and when you’re playing those teams, you’ve got to play well,” Ruff recounted to reporters.

Everyone understood what was at stake. The coach and his captain repeated that they must be ready from the start. The Ottawa Senators are one of the teams the Sabres will need to pass if they’re going to rally from last place to snap the franchise’s 13-year playoff drought. It was only one of 41 games remaining, but they couldn’t afford to lose.

Brady Tkachuk, the Senators captain, made the first impactful play with a hit from behind on Jason Zucker that caused one of Buffalo’s best forwards to miss most of the first period. The Sabres were incensed. Dennis Gilbert challenged Tkachuk to fight. Connor Clifton finished a check that nearly sent Tkachuk tumbling backward into their bench.

The Sabres could have unraveled. Instead, they played one of their best games of the season. Their fast-paced offensive attack built a four-goal lead, their improved team defense pressured the Senators into numerous mistakes and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen earned his second shutout of the season in an emphatic 4-0 win over the Senators.

“I feel like everybody knew it was important game and that’s what made it even better,” said Luukkonen after he made 35 saves for his seventh career shutout. “It was a big thing for us to win tonight. Lindy and 'Dahls' pointed out how big this game is. Everybody had to bring their 'A' game, and I feel like that makes it even better that everybody showed up tonight.”

The Sabres are 16-21-5 overall and 5-2-1 since their 13-game winless streak ended before the holiday break. They’re still at the bottom of the conference and seven points out of a playoff spot, but they’re finally back to playing with the speed and intensity that had them third in the Atlantic Division on Nov. 23.

And, unlike their best stretches of play earlier this season, the Sabres haven’t been relying on their top players to produce. Zucker, Tage Thompson and Alex Tuch combined for one assist Thursday night. The team’s secondary scoring is finally starting to come through.

Jack Quinn scored twice in the first period in his hometown, Dylan Cozens added his ninth goal of the season and Ryan McLeod snapped a 23-game scoring drought when his pass ricocheted off Thomas Chabot’s skate for a goal that put Buffalo ahead 4-0 with 9:38 left in the second period.

It was one of the club’s most complete performances of the season, but it may not have occurred if Quinn didn’t come through with two exceptional plays during an emotional first period. The turning point was Tkachuk's hit on Zucker.

"We hated it," said Quinn. "I don’t think it’s a very good hit on one of our best players."

Quinn helped the Sabres force a turnover at their defensive blue line and fired a shot from the right circle that beat goalie Anton Forsberg for a 1-0 lead 10:17 into the game. Once Quinn exited the box following his second penalty of the first period, he collected a stretch pass from Peyton Krebs and scored on a breakaway to put Buffalo ahead 2-0.

Quinn started the season with one empty-net goal in 24 games. He was a healthy scratch seven times. Ruff dropped Quinn to the fourth line Monday against Washington, but the 23-year-old winger has six goals with 11 points in his last 11 games.

“It means a lot,” said Quinn. “My game is to be an offensive producer and score. Some tough times at the start of the year. Things were feeling a lot harder for me than years before for some reason, but it’s nice to see some of the work I’ve been putting in pay off.”

Starts haven’t been an issue for the Sabres with Ruff as coach. Their 46 first-period goals are tied for second-most in the NHL. One part of their game seems to struggle each game, though. If their power play is scoring, then the penalty kill allows a goal or two. If their 5-on-5 offense is clicking, then their goalie allows one or two that make it a closer game than it should be. It all came together against Ottawa. 

Thompson and Zucker helped force the turnover on Cozens’ goal. Luukkonen bailed out his teammates whenever they made a mistake in the defensive zone. There were no careless turnovers. They blocked 15 shots and killed four Senators power plays. The defensive drills that Ruff included in every recent practice have translated to improved habits in games. 

Ottawa had 16 shots on goal in the third period but only one high-danger scoring chance at 5-on-5, according to Natural Stat Trick. The Sabres are averaging more than four goals over their last eight games, and they have a plus-12 goal differential during that span. They look like a different team than the one that went a month without winning a game.

It’s been nearly two years since they’ve won four games in a row and they’re only 4-7-1 against teams in their division, but the individual improvement from players like Quinn will give them a chance to achieve the consistency they’ll need if they're going to move up the standings.

“We know we’ve dug ourselves a hole, but there’s light at the end of the tunnel,” said Ruff. “With what we went through you’ve got to come out a better team and you have to be better players, and you’ve got to be better coaches. Tonight was an example that we were ready to play, and we knew we needed the two points.”

Here are other takeaways from the game:

1. Outlook

The Senators shouldn’t be considered a serious threat in the Atlantic Division.

Their goaltending is terrible without Linus Ullmark. They’re 1-5-1 in their last seven games and they’ve scored two or fewer goals six times during that span. The Sabres have outscored the Senators 9-1 in their two meetings this season. Tkachuk is a great player, but he takes undisciplined penalties. His supporting cast isn’t producing, either.

2. Right step

Cozens wants to be more aggressive when the Sabres have the puck.

He acknowledged during a conversation with The Buffalo News on Thursday morning that he’s still adjusting to the demands of playing center for Ruff. Cozens wants to take more chances offensively, but he doesn’t want to do it at the expense of responsible defense. He provided the Sabres with both on his goal against the Senators. Cozens intercepted a pass, then snapped the puck past Forsberg for a 3-0 lead 4:11 into the second period.

The goal was Cozens’ ninth of the season and his third in the past 11 games. His line with Zucker and Thompson also corrected the mistakes that caused them to allow too many scoring chances in recent games. They allowed only one shot on goal at 5-on-5 through 40 minutes.

3. Stepping up

It's time for the Sabres to rely on McLeod.

Thompson is playing through an undisclosed injury, Cozens hasn’t produced offensively and Jiri Kulich is out with a lower-body injury. McLeod doesn’t belong on the fourth line, either. His best work during a multiple-assist first period was on the penalty kill, where McLeod singlehandedly killed nearly 30 seconds and helped the Sabres prevent a dangerous scoring chance.  

McLeod has skated 20-plus minutes in consecutive games and his previous high with the Sabres was 18:35. He had five shots on goal and won 12 of 21 faceoffs.

“McLeod has really played well,” said Ruff. “We’ve got a real good fit there with him and JJ (Peterka). That line has created a lot. …If you look at these last couple games, the speed that 'Clouder' has brought back to our group, it’s just the way we need him to play.”

4. Next

The Sabres host the Seattle Kraken at 4 p.m. Saturday in KeyBank Center, then the Carolina Hurricanes are in Buffalo for a game at 7 p.m. Wednesday.