[The Athletic] The Sabres have now won 13 of 14 heading into a massive week on the schedule. Thoughts on the win over the Ducks: Doan’s breakout continues, Byram becoming a workhorse, Quinn’s big night, and more

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1. >1. Jack Quinn had two goals after scoring just one in his previous 19 games. Ruff has been adamant that Quinn has been generating enough chances to warrant the patience the coaching staff has shown in him.
   >“It goes a long way, his confidence in me,” Quinn said. “You don’t feel the pressure as much. He believes in me, so it’s nice to be able to just go out there and play my game.”
   >Quinn’s first goal came early when Ryan McLeod set him up on a two-on-one. Later, Quinn put the Sabres up 4-1 with what would end up being the game-winner when he stopped and cut toward the middle of the ice as the back-checkers passed him by and then launched a shot into the top corner.
   >“He can make a big difference, for sure,” Ruff said. “You look at quality opportunities and putting teams away, he’s had a lot of those opportunities to help get us that extra goal. He’s been in good position. But it’s like I said, they’ll go in. Sometimes goal scorers go through a little stretch like that, but it was good. He’s working hard, he’s skating well, he’s in on a good number of chances, so that’s big for us.”

   >2. Bowen Byram tied his career high with his 10th goal of the season. He led the team in ice time at 25:56, and the Sabres had an 8-3 advantage in scoring chances during his five-on-five minutes. He was on the ice for four of Buffalo’s five goals and has been a major catalyst for the offense lately. He’s become a workhorse, and Ruff trusts him in every situation. Byram replaced Owen Power on Buffalo’s second power-play unit while leading the team in shorthanded ice time.

   >3. This was a rare off night for the pair of Mattias Samuelsson and Rasmus Dahlin. During their five-on-five minutes, the Ducks had a 16-7 advantage in scoring chances. With how much the Sabres have been leaning on the top four defensemen, it’s worth watching for some signs of fatigue with a heavy schedule coming up.

   >4. It was the 12th time in 43 games this season in which the Sabres have blocked 20 or more shots in a game. All of last season, the Sabres had 20 or more blocked shots in a game just 10 times. The team’s collective buy-in has been evident on a nightly basis.
   >“That’s the sacrifice this group is willing to make for each other,” Doan said. “A lot of it is because of how close of a group we are and how much fun we have together.”

   >5. Kesselring, who aggravated a high-ankle sprain against the Stars on New Year’s Eve, is getting closer to a return. He skated with the team during the morning skate Saturday and said he should be able to play again at some point later in the week. Given the workload of the team’s top four defensemen, Kesselring’s return will be a welcome sight.

2. Winning these at home would be massive. Gonna be a big 3 games between playing favorite Florida and then back to backs against teams we have trouble with.