Rasmus Dahlin's power-play goals lifts Buffalo Sabres to a phenomenal win against Philadelphia Flyers

Rasmus Dahlin scored two power-play goals, and the Buffalo Sabres extended their scorching pace with a 5-2 win against the Philadelphia Flyers in an NHL game Wednesday night at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, N.Y. The win, the 14th in the past 16 games, extended the Buffalo Sabres’ rise in the standings.

However, despite taking possession of only 14 shots, the Buffalo Sabres scored in special teams play and off some defensive errors, demonstrating the efficiency that has typified them throughout this successful run. The Philadelphia Flyers lost their fourth consecutive game due in large part to defensive mistakes.

Rasmus Dahlin’s two powerful goals and Mattias Samuelsson’s double lead fueled Buffalo Sabres' chances to win

Rasmus Dahlin opened the scoring with just under eight minutes remaining in the first period, hitting a power-play blast through the lower left corner from the right side of the circle. He added another with the man advantage with just under two minutes remaining in the second period, blasting a shot from the high slot range to give his team a 4-1 advantage.

“We knew how important this game was coming in, and we have to play them like playoff games,” Dahlin said. “And we’ve been doing that really good. That’s one of the things we’ve really improved on, that we know how important these games are.”

The Sabres built early momentum behind contributions from across the lineup. Mattias Samuelsson doubled the lead late in the first period, and Jack Quinn made it 3-0 early in the second off a feed from Ryan McLeod. McLeod finished with a goal and an assist, while Tage Thompson and Josh Doan each recorded two assists.

The Buffalo improved to 25-16-4 on the season and is now 14-2-0 since Dec. 9, making KeyBank Center a challenging building to come in and play.

“The cross-check took him out of the game,” said Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff, who noted it was to the ribs. “He’ll be evaluated in the morning. We’re hoping it’s nothing too serious.”

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen stopped 20 to earn his seventh consecutive home win and tie one of the longest home winning streaks by a Sabres goalie. The Sabres' defensive structure, tying up second chances and being as stingy as possible around the middle of the ice, frustrated the Flyers all game long.

Though Sabres center Josh Norris left the game with an upper-body injury, Buffalo kept their cool and finished out the game with a short-handed empty-net goal from McLeod.

With confidence high and special teams clicking, the Sabres continue to look like one of the NHL's most dangerous teams heading into the next stretch of the season.

Also read: Rasmus Dahlin on track to enhance Hall of Fame credentials through Sabres’ playoff drive and Olympic role

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