Quinn, Malenstyn step up, scorching Sabres win 8th straight

The sample size is growing for Beck Malenstyn: When he scores, it’s a beauty.

On Tuesday at KeyBank Center, Buffalo’s dependable fourth liner raced to a bouncing puck in the neutral zone, deked around San Jose defenseman Sam Dickinson and beat goalie Yaroslav Askarov cleanly. Malenstyn’s sixth goal of the season provided some second-period insurance in the Sabres’ 6-3 win over the San Jose Sharks.

“He’s, almost on a nightly basis, one of our top-speed skaters,” coach Lindy Ruff said of Malenstyn, who’s worked hard to add some skill to his game. “Combine that with making better plays and some of the dekes and some of the moves, there’s a couple times I’ve said, ‘Wow.’"

“I love to see him score and celly like that,” added captain Rasmus Dahlin.

It’s all clicking for the Sabres right now, that Malenstyn goal being a great example. Undefeated since the Olympic break, they’re the first team in franchise history with multiple eight-game (or better) winning streaks in one season. They previously won 10 straight in December.

Dahlin and Tage Thompson have led the way, sure, but the depth scoring continues to do its part as well. On Tuesday, Jack Quinn broke out with his first career hat trick and four-point game. He’s up to 43 points this season, also a personal best.

The winger opened the scoring on an early odd-man rush, lasered an insurance goal from the slot to start the third period, then sealed the deal with a late empty netter – linemate Ryan McLeod made sure he got No. 3, even though it took a few tries. Quinn also assisted on Jason Zucker’s second-period goal.

“I think after the break I was actually playing pretty good, and our line was having a ton of chances, just I wasn’t producing a ton,” Quinn said. “It was nice to turn the corner tonight.”

He’d gone 12 games without a goal, but it wasn’t for lack of trying. Quinn accumulated 33 shots on goal and several great scoring chances during that span, and rather than be discouraged, he continued getting to the hard areas of the ice to make plays.

“He’s probably led our team in top opportunities that haven’t gone in the net. It was due to go,” Ruff said. “… Great to see, because he’s one guy that when he starts hitting his mark – I mean, look at the shot at the start of the third period. It just gives us another big threat.”

Added Dahlin: “He's just a great teammate, he's loud, he brings the vibe every game, and I'm just happy to see him score like he can.”

Quinn’s and Malenstyn’s contributions helped Buffalo build a four-point lead over the Tampa Bay Lightning, who lost Tuesday, for first place in the Atlantic Division. Detroit also lost, making for a solid night on the out-of-town scoreboard.

Here’s more from yet another Sabres win.

Stanley’s debut

Logan Stanley, acquired Friday from the Winnipeg Jets, had his work visa approved around 3 p.m. on Tuesday, and four hours later he made his Sabres debut. The 6-foot-7 defenseman gave Buffalo a proper introduction, dropping the gloves with Zack Ostapchuk in a first-period bout.

“You want to show your teammates that you’re here to compete and try to win a championship with them, and pull your weight,” Stanley said. “That was my way of starting to do that, anyways.”

Stanley skated 15:51 with one hit and one block, playing mostly alongside Michael Kesselring. Considering the hectic leadup to puck drop, both he and Ruff were happy with his performance.

“Just a lot going on, and a little nervous being on a new team for the first time, being outside of Winnipeg,” Stanley said. “The guys were great, helped me out, and I think it can only get better for me.”

More nastiness

Moments after Stanley’s fight, Malenstyn (cleanly) laid out 19-year-old star Macklin Celebrini and immediately found himself scrapping with Barclay Goodrow.

“[Celebrini] is a very special player, a young guy, and every once in a while when you catch somebody, you’re gonna have to answer for it,” Malenstyn said. “I wasn’t really expecting to have to, but then when someone’s gonna come knocking, you’re better off to just deal with it.”

The roles were reversed in the second period when Thompson was upended by a low hit from Sharks defenseman Dmitri Orlov. As has become the standard for these Sabres, Zach Benson immediately rushed to Thompson’s defense and hauled Orlov to the ice.

“That's what we do in this locker room,” Dahlin said. “Big respect for Benny.”

Lyon’s run

Alex Lyon took his turn in net and made 17 saves, improving to 15-2-0 since Dec. 9. He’s the first goalie in Sabres history to win 15-of-17 at any point, and he’s got an NHL-best .924 save percentage during that run.

He was especially sharp in the first and second periods, when Buffalo led but managed the puck poorly and gifted some scoring chances to Celebrini and Co.

“We started doing some dumb stuff which gave them some life. We have to get rid of that,” Ruff said. “… I thought we got two or three good saves out of Lyon to keep it at 2-1.”

Postgame sound

Up next

The Sabres host Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals on Thursday at 7 p.m., with MSG’s pregame coverage starting at 6:30.

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