'We didn’t do anything crazy’: Sabres use steady third period to top Detroit 4-2
Jack Quinn scored a goal with two assists to help the Buffalo Sabres beat the Detroit Red Wings 4-2 on Wednesday at KeyBank Center.
Colten Ellis shined in his NHL goaltending debut, even after he didn’t face a shot in the first 10 minutes of his first NHL game.
Lindy Ruff is seeing how his team is finding its ease in uneasy circumstances, particularly in the late moments of close games, and the Buffalo Sabres have suddenly won three of their last four games after a 4-2 win against the Detroit Red Wings on Wednesday at KeyBank Center.
Buffalo Sabres defenseman Bowen Byram (4) celebrates a goal with right winger Jack Quinn (22) during the third period of a game
against the Detroit Red Wings at KeyBank Center on Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025. Harry Scull Jr./Buffalo News
Quinn’s goal on a shot from the point and through traffic less than five minutes into the third period broke a 2-2 tie and helped the Sabres (3-4-0) snap the Red Wings’ five-game winning streak.
Ruff, the Sabres’ coach, gave his team some advice as they worked through an 0-3 start.
“Just stay with it,” Ruff said. “Keep playing the game the right way. The chances came. I thought we did a great job of maintaining how we were playing. We didn’t do anything crazy.
“You’ve got to be comfortable in that uncomfortable situation, and I thought, tonight, we were.”
Nearly two weeks ago, the Sabres were the team struggling to create early offense, including a dismal first period in which they put only two shots on goal in a 3-1 loss Oct. 11 at Boston.
The Sabres suddenly find themselves in a role reversal, of sorts. They limited the Red Wings, who entered ninth in the NHL in goals per game (3.3), to five shots on goal in the first period.
Now, a team that labored in its first days of the season is starting to find its identity.
And they are starting to score. Quinn finished with a goal and two assists, and has three goals and three assists in his last four games.
Conor Timmins and Ryan McLeod each had two assists, and Quinn, Timmins and Noah Ostlund each finished with a plus-2 rating. Alex Tuch blocked four shots, and five Sabers each blocked two shots against the Red Wings.
“When we play fast, play hard and for each other, everybody’s buying into what we’re doing,” Ellis said. “We’re going to get better results. The reality is, you’re not going to win 82 games a year, but you can learn something from every game, and as the season (goes) on, everybody’s in here, just realizing the identity of this group.”
That came to light in the third period, as Quinn’s power-play goal, with Michael Rasmussen penalized for tripping at 2:22, gave the Sabres a 3-2 lead at 4:15.
The Sabres then had to defend a one-goal lead and continue to create offensive opportunities, given that they were facing a team that entered the game tied for the lead in the Atlantic Division (10 points, with Montreal), and wielded a legitimate scoring threat in Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin.
Larkin entered the game with five goals and six assists and a six-game points scoring streak in Detroit’s first six games. Larkin’s only point on Wednesday came on Emmitt Finnie’s goal with 1:40 left in the second, which tied the game at 2-2.
“It’s definitely a balance,” Quinn said. “You want to keep playing the same way. You want to keep playing in the offensive zone. It’s kind of the best defense. You don’t want to be hemmed in your zone just defending the whole time. Not giving up any free chances, but trying to play the same way.”
After Quinn’s go-ahead goal, Josh Doan's goal at 8:10 of the third on a one-timer from the left circle helped the Sabres maintain the lead. Then, they killed off a holding penalty against Jiri Kulich with less than eight minutes left in the third, a two-minute stretch in which Ellis (27 saves) stopped three shots by the Red Wings.
“You’ve got to play the right way, a 200-foot game,” Sabres center Tyson Kozak said. “Try not to cheat for offense, when we’re up in the game, but you don’t want to back off, either.”
The Sabres picked up two more points, points that have extra heft because the win came against an Atlantic Division opponent. All three of the Sabres’ wins have come against Atlantic Division teams, and the Sabres continue a six-game stretch against divisional opponents when they host Toronto at 7 p.m. Friday at KeyBank Center, then play at 5 p.m. Saturday at Toronto.
Injury update
Ruff said after the win that left wing Jason Zucker was being evaluated for an upper-body injury, which he sustained late in the second period when he was hit by Detroit defenseman Jacob Bernard-Docker in the corner.“I really don't have any time frame, or what it's going to be, right now,” Ruff said.