TORONTO – It was only fitting that winger Jack Quinn capped the most dynamic outing in his NHL career by creating defenseman Owen Power’s overtime goal to cap another thrilling Sabres come-from-behind victory.
On a night Maple Leads winger Kirill Marchenko scored three times before the second period ended in Scotiabank Arena, Quinn was the best player on the ice in the Sabres’ 5-4 win, wreaking havoc from the get-go.
Quinn scored two goals, hit posts, set up his teammates and even fought Troy Stecher.
That might’ve been the only way to stop him, get him off the ice for five minutes.
Each time he touched the puck, it felt like Quinn, 25, would make something special happen before the crowd of 18,886 fans.
“It’s the best game I’ve seen him play,” coach Lindy Ruff said after the Sabres completed their third two-goal comeback win this season. “Like, all around. Four points, he had a couple goal posts, scored a couple goals. Had an unbelievable fight. Sort of. We’ll give him the Gordie Howe on that one. Barely.”
Yes, having registered at a goal, assist and a fight (albeit a short one), Quinn earned his first Gordie Howe hat trick, one of hockey special feats.
“He was a stud all night,” said Sabres defenseman Mattias Samuelsson, who scored tying goal 12:16 into the third period. “(He’s) feeling himself.”
Quinn, the eighth overall pick in 2020 has showcased massive growth in the first two weeks of the season, performing like a budding star.
Quinn, who scored a career-high 20 goals and 51 points last season, oozed confidence all night, moving with authority all night.
“I’m a better player than last year, put a lot of work in the summer,” he said. “Worked on a lot of things to be more confident, be a better skater, be able to hold onto pucks longer. I think it’s paying off. It’s giving me more time with pucks and more looks.”
Through eight games, Quinn has scored four goals and eight points – numbers that have him tied for the team lead.
On Thursday, he scored from the front of the net in the first period and from the slot in the second. Both goals tied the game.
He created Dennis Gilbert’s goal 10:05 into the third period, which moved the Sabres within 4-3, by controlling the puck after he got knocked down in the right circle and getting up and feeding the defenseman at the point.
In between, Quinn fought Stecher. Following the game, he was sporting a cut on his nose.
“Just going back and forth and, yeah, ended up fighting,” Quinn said. “All good.”
Power completed a nifty give and go in overtime when Quinn fed him from above the right circle into the slot.
“Quinner made a nice play to kind of throw a sauce over the stick,” Power said.
The genesis of the ultra-slick Quinn on display these days can be traced to the beginning of 2024-25, Ruff’s first season back in Buffalo. Ruff scratched him around this time two years ago and challenged him to improve his skating and get stronger.
“We can go back to the skating two years ago and where his skating’s at right now,” he said. “He put a lot of work in the last two summers. Even I’ll go back to when I scratched him two years ago. We put him in the weight room for two weeks, and I think when he came out of there he was a better player.
“But he didn’t look for an excuse. He said, ‘I’m gonna do the work.’ And I think since then he’s done the work and he’s getting paid dividends for it.”
The Sabres, who improved to 4-3-1 this season, understand they’re living dangerous by falling behind in games. They also erased a two-goal deficit in the third period of Tuesday’s 4-3 shootout loss to the Montreal Canadiens.
When they’re down and seemingly out, they possesses a strong belief they can roar back.
“We’ve done it before,” Ruff said. “We just did it the other night. We talk about getting one in the first five or 10 minutes, getting back in the game. I think we got that first one at the 9:55 mark and pretty well had them in their end most of the third.”
The Sabres lost two forwards Thursday – one before the game and one in overtime.
Ruff said Jiri Kulich, who had a blood clot surgically removed last season, left the morning skate early because he felt sick and was sent back to Buffalo. Ruff said tests came out OK.
Meanwhile, Ruff said Norris entered concussion protocol.
