Rasmus Dahlin scored two power-play goals to help the Buffalo Sabres secure a 5-2 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers at KeyBank Center on Wednesday. The win moved the Sabres ahead of the Flyers in the standings, putting them back into the first wild card position. They are now five points behind the Montreal Canadiens for third place in the Atlantic Division and have two games in hand.
Goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 20 saves, including a key glove stop against Nikita Grebenkin early in the game when it was still scoreless. Dahlin opened scoring three minutes after that save.
Other goal scorers for Buffalo included Mattias Samuelsson, Jack Quinn, and Ryan McLeod. Tage Thompson and Josh Doan each recorded two assists. The Sabres ended with 14 shots on goal but had 39 shot attempts overall, hitting iron several times during the first period.
Philadelphia’s starting goalie Dan Vladar allowed two goals on five shots before leaving due to injury in the first period. Samuel Ersson replaced him and stopped six of eight shots.
Forward Josh Norris left late in the second period with an upper-body injury and did not return for Buffalo in the third period.
The Sabres will next face the Montreal Canadiens at home on Thursday during their 2005-06 Reunion Night. The event will include a pregame celebration featuring 19 alumni such as Maxim Afinogenov, Jason Pominville, and Ryan Miller. Coverage begins at 6:30 p.m., with celebrations set to start at 7 p.m.
