The Buffalo Sabres won their eighth straight game by beating the San Jose Sharks 6-3 on Tuesday at Key Bank Center in Buffalo.

Jack Quinn had three goals and an assist, and Jason Zucker had a goal and an assist for the Sabres, who remain in first place in the Atlantic Division. Alex Tuch and Beck Malenstyn also scored, and Alex Lyon made 16 saves. Ryan McLeod and Rasmus Dahlin each had three assists.

Macklin Celebrini reached 90 points on the season with a goal, scoring for the fourth consecutive game. Kiefer Sherwood scored his 20th goal of the season, a career-high, and Yaroslav Askarov made 20saves. Alexander Wennberg also scored for the Sharks.

The Sabres, who haven’t made the playoffs in 14 seasons, look like the team of destiny. They were able to skate around the offensive zone for nearly the entire game. The Sharks are entering a five-game road trip that could define their playoff hopes.

Askarov looked shaky in goal, but he didn’t have much help from the defense. The San Jose Sharks showed some improvement on the special teams front, going 1 for 3 on the power play. They stayed disciplined against a dangerous power play, which the Sabres rank 15th in the NHL.

Quinn gave the Sabres a 1-0 lead 4:12 into the first period. Jason Zucker found Quinn on a two-on-one, and his wrist shot beat Askarov by the blocker.

Tuch extended the Sabres’ lead to 2-0 with a deflection goal at 5:39. Dahlin’s open shot from the point allowed the puck to get through to the front for the tip-in.

Celerbini cut the lead in half to 2-1 at 12:54. Will Smith retrieved a turnover and found Celebrini with a quick feed in front, and then the San Jose Sharks center used a backhand to beat Lyon.

Malenstyn made it 3-1 at 4:59 of the second period. Malenstyn was able to get behind Sam Dickinson and beat Askarov up high.

Zuciker made it 4-1 at 8:51 after a shot got through Askarov and was eventually tapped in.

Sherwood set a career high in goals with his 20th goal of the season at 19:27. Sherwood took a one-timer that beat Lyon over the glove on the far side to make it 4-2.

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Quinn scored his second goal of the game 42 seconds into the third period.

Wennberg scored a power-play goal to make it 5-3 at 6:56. Wennberg was able to finish a backhand shot while falling after getting a centering pass from Tyler Toffoli.

Quinn finished off the hat trick with 2:46 left in the third period with an empty net goal.