Sabres top Flyers, gain on them in East wild-card race

BUFFALO -- Jack Quinn scored twice for the Buffalo Sabres, who moved within four points of the Philadelphia Flyers for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference by defeating them 4-2 at KeyBank Center on Friday.

They were Quinn’s first two goals since he returned March 27 from a lower-body injury that kept him out for 23 games. He also missed the first 32 games of the season while recovering from an Achilles injury sustained in June.

“It’s a great feeling,” Quinn said. “Scoring’s always a great feeling, and probably even better after the injuries this year and being out of the lineup.”

Tage Thompson had a goal and an assist, and Alex Tuch and Zach Benson each had two assists for the Sabres (37-35-5), who have won four of six. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 32 saves.

"We’re a team that never gives up,” Buffalo defenseman Rasmus Dahlin said. “We don’t listen to the outside noise. We’re a strong core in here, and we will look at the result once the last game has been played. All we can do is just play our best hockey every game."

Owen Tippett had a goal and an assist, and Noah Cates also scored for the Flyers (36-30-11), who have lost six straight (0-4-2).

“It's just finding a way, whatever way it is, front door, back door, through the roof is kind of what we're saying. Just find a way to win,” Cates said. “It doesn't have to be pretty. I think that's kind of what we need to reiterate. It doesn't have to be pretty this time of year. And just getting two points is all we need to be looking forward to tomorrow (at the Columbus Blue Jackets).”

Ivan Fedotov made 15 saves for Philadelphia in his first NHL start. He allowed two goals on 21 shots in the final two periods of a 4-3 overtime loss to the New York Islanders on April 1.

“A hard game to play,” Philadelphia coach John Tortorella said of Fedotov's outing. “A hard game because he didn't get much action. Not many chances. But it's both. I think we need another save. But I also think we need to capitalize on our chances. And that's the difference in the game.”

Thompson gave Buffalo a 1-0 lead at 10:01 of the first period. He took a pass from JJ Peterka in the right face-off circle, drove to the net, deked around Fedotov and put the puck in at the right post.

Cates tied it 1-1 at 9:07 of the second period with a wrist shot from the right circle after a long stretch of offensive-zone possession.

Buffalo coach Don Granato called a timeout immediately after Cates tied the game. The Sabres were being outshot 23-5 at the time of the goal.

“That timeout was big for us,” Dahlin said. “We just went back to the simple stuff. We were trying to complicate things when they started pushing, and once we just started to do the right things out there, we played better, for sure.”

Dahlin put Buffalo ahead 2-1 at 14:51 when his wrist shot from the high slot beat Fedotov to the blocker side.

Quinn pushed it to 3-1 at 19:54 with a wrist shot from the high slot.

Tippett cut it to 3-2 at 9:19 of the third period, beating Luukkonen with a slap shot through traffic from the blue line.

Quinn took a drop pass from Benson in the left circle, put a snap shot on net and batted in his own rebound at the left post for the 4-2 final at 13:59.

“It can be tough (to stay positive),” Tippett said. “I think it's just taking the positive in all the little things we've been doing right. I think that game tonight, minus the result, was a step in the right direction of how we want to play and getting back to our identity.”

NOTES: Fedotov (27 years, 129 days) became the fifth-oldest goalie in Flyers history at the time of his first NHL start. … Dahlin scored his 19th goal of the season, joining Phil Housley (six times) as the only defensemen in Sabres history to reach the mark in a single season. … Dahlin’s goal was his 290th NHL point, third-most among defensemen in Buffalo history. He has 65 goals and 225 assists.