NHL Highlights | Islanders vs. Sabres – December 20, 2025

NHL Highlights | Islanders vs. Sabres – December 20, 2025

a little bit particularly with the top line. Lee joining Barcel and Holstrom as the top three to get the call. It’s a fourth line shut out from the coach to get them started though. And we are underway. The Islanders sending it down the ice. I know you could say this about any game in the NHL, especially in this, we’ll call it modern era of number specialty moments in a hockey game. Here’s Rasmus the lead coast to coast and he FINISHES IT WITH THE MOST. A BACKHANDER TO OPEN THE GOAL SCORING ON A BEAUTIFUL PLAY FROM END TO END by the Sabres captain. Wow. That’s exactly what he just did right here. End as you said, Dan. Nice job coming through the neutral zone. Look at that move right there he puts. Then he’s one-on-one with Rick. He just turned Boick inside out right there. He didn’t know what to do. And on the back hand, boom, puts it up far side. Top shelf. And you want to get yourself on a roll. >> Back up top. Dene takes Thompson far circle. That gap taken away. Benson feeds it right back to him. Here comes Dene. He holds THE SHOT. QUICK SCORES. Norris and Rasmus. DENE’S ON A TEAR IN THIS GAME ALREADY WITH A SETUP OF THAT power play goal. But we’ve got a waveoff call here by the referee. Mets waits for it here at the near corner. Cross ice pass. GREENWAY TO THE NET. THAT’S TIPPED right on. Low glove stopped that time by Riddick. Mloud trying to dig it free. Savers do come up with it. Quinn with a tidy pass to find Benson to the line and that is just on side as Castle Ring joined the rush. Benson rocked to the ice down on the corner. Savers come away with it. Quick shot and Riddick makes the save and then Payton Crutch continues to battle on the wall. Thompson sets it in front. Here’s a chance and a great look again for this miss but Rick got the stop. Back to Metsa top of the far circle. Dene trying to dance around Pel who does not have a stick. Just took the man and sabers back at their own blue line. Quickly work it back in. Thompson for Payton Krebs. Buffalo with players coming off the bench here. >> Alex Tuck with a shot and with traffic in front. Mets taking a defenseman or Paso there with him. Mets nice play and he’s able to poke the puck free and the Sabres are countering back here with a rush of their own. Alex Tuck turns, fires and Rick stopped it. Had to track the rebound but he did before Norris could. That’s the key to this. Then you frustrate the opposition at the same time. >> Intercepted pass feed to Thompson and he hits the shot low on Riddick who makes the save out of his net. makes the stop for the Sabres with 28 seconds. Back into the Islander zone. Nice drop. Castle ring SHOT IS STOPPED. REBOUND IN FRONT and a back handles off the status. Hands. You get the hands on the stick and it takes the opportunity away. >> Great moment though for the Sabres captain and Buffalo now with a one-goal lead after that Oseland’s pass into the middle of the ice high in the Buffalo zone. Great feed by Tuck for Norris. in and the save made by Riddick. Now Norris below the goal line looking to center. Betsa with a great look. >> Islanders stay on side first. SHOT LOW. STOPPED BY LION. OH, AND HE’S GOT THE REBOUND AS Byron went back. And then Dolene on his side of center ice. Let’s get out of the line and in. Now it’s Done. Drops for Thompson. What a move. TUCKS THAT ONE IN. IS THAT OVER THE LINE? YES, IT IS. WHAT a goal. Ta Thompson tucks that puck to bed to give Buffalo a two nothing lead. Once again, just some good pressure. Here’s Krebs going to feed this one forward to Don. And look at this one. He the long reach right there is going to be able to do that. As soon as Rick, the goalender, opens up his legs like that. Tage kind of pulls back. There’s nothing there, but he gets him off guard. He just kind of stumbles a little bit there. Gets his legs open. He’s off the post and that allows Tage just to reach in behind, but you don’t do that if you don’t got a long reach. And then he got a second shot at it and it goes off the leg and across the line. >> Highlanders can’t do anything with it. Sip with a pass from Callum Richie. Didn’t work out. MAYFIELD WITH A SHOT. LION WITH THE SAVE AND A REBOUND. Stays with him over the far corner. And now it’ll be the Islanders with three to center. Room for Heinman with a shot. Lion well out to make the stop once again. Boy, he comes out to challenge that SHOT RIGHT ON. MAY HAVE DEFLECTED. He makes the stop. Far circle. Schaefer holds it to the slapper shot. Stopped up again by Lion at 1916 in favor of Buffalo. But it’s still a two nothing Savers lead. Here’s a PUCK FAR SIDE. ALEX LION again having himself a game. Great save. FAR CIRCLE SHOT. LION FIGHTS THAT ONE off with a blocker save to the corner. Tying them in against Norris. Sabres get it outside the zone. Going to skate it up ice here. Direct. >> Norris trying to dance his way through. Stays on the puck. It’s glued to his stick now into the slot. Samson far circle. Shot up the post. That hit the post. Over on the left side behind the net for Barzel. Walks it in front. Puck is loose. Sabres are on it. Can’t skate it out. This is Lee Sanders STOPPED AND SCORES ON THE SECOND CHANCE. OH, ALEX LION made a great save on the first one, but it came right back to the stick of 13 and he gets the Islanders on the board. It’s a 2-1 game with 22.3 seconds to go in the period. >> Something if you watch the Islanders, you know they don’t quit. They’re going to keep coming at you and even if things aren’t going their way, they’re still going to continue to work there. on the backhand throws it to Barcel and he’s able just to sneak right in that hole right there. There’s numbers there but nowes and this will be a character period for both teams for the Buffalo Sabres of course and trying to nail down a onegoal game that they have played a really good game here now into this evening that the Islanders are a team that Razer has mentioned many times. They’ve continued to go forward straight ahead hard and I think that’s that’s the part that I think has really rattled the Islanders with a shot and Alex Lion with nobody around him. The two Islanders going to the net were steered to the post. Norris for Dolly Thompson’s at the goal line now over at the far post. Now he drifts away from that. Benson walks out front. Shot on Riddick who holds on to the rebound to block the shot. Tage working the goal line. Now Dene creeps in. Too much room. There’s a shot. THAT ONE’S OFF THE BAR. That one was a bit closer than the one at the other end of the ice. Thompson hammers one. Renick fighting that one off. One minute gone in the power play for Buffalo. 2-1 lead. Sabres. Dolene for Dome. Back to Dolene. Oh, same paint by Rick. Back in front again. Schaefer to the far circle with his pass. He’ll bump it back to him. Schaefer creeping in. Marzel low left circle. Sends it across. scores and the Islanders with 28.3 to go. Have tied the game at two. That’s six on five and they’re going to get their sixth goal here. Six on five on the season. But just good job working the puck around and the Sabres just you got to get the stick out there. You got to try to cut those lanes off. Force them to maybe make a worse pass. Lone Power goes down right there. tries to do a good job >> with 9 seconds to go. How much do they go for it? They don’t. They just dump it in and bouncing puck at the line. One more shot after the horn that hits Lion and the Sabres taking a bit of an issue with that. Barzal and Schaefer with the assist on the Heinman goal at 1931 to send us to this overtime. And here we go with Dene Thompson and Byum out against Schaefer, Sikas, and Barzel. This could be a very entertaining overtime for the Sabres. See if they can get the second point here. Is going to give up chasing this too much. Buffalo changing the Islanders though with a pass to the line. Get in behind. Save by Lion. Loose P. Islanders keep possession. Durant goes to the bench. Pio stays up. 143 TO GO. ISLANDERS ON A BREAKAWAY CHANCE. Shot saved by Lion. Are you KIDDING ME? OH, WHAT A BEAUTY BY LION IN OVERTIME. They’re going to escape to the Buffalo line. It’ll be carried in and a SHOT AGAIN. SCHAEFER. SECOND CHANCE ROBBED BY LION. Down to 6 seconds. It’ll be one shot. SABRES WITH THE STEAL. MAYBE A CHANCE. Here’s Mloud with two seconds. He’s got to shoot THE PUCK. HE DOES. AND IT’S WIDE. AND WE GO TO A shootout for the Islanders. Left circle between the dots. Backhand scores. Whoa. >> Well, Matthew Barcel showing it right here on the shootout. He’s coming in. Cuts across and he just goes with the backhand. Very comfortable on the backhand as reaches out with near circle. Cuts in between the dots. SCORES with authority on that shot from Jack Quinn. >> Going in there, Jack is he’s going in on his forehand. Cuts in the middle, but you saw that whole left side there. >> Right. So, the Islanders now with their last chance. Richie cutting in, MAKES THE DEEP SAVE BY LION AND A PERFECT way for THE SABRES TO GET THEIR two points here tonight. Alex Lion a big big part of this win. Yeah, he was fabulous in this game.

Alex Lyon stopped 32 of the 34 shots he faced and Rasmus Dahlin scored a power play goal to help the Buffalo Sabres beat the New York Islanders 3-2 in a shootout.
———————————————-

📺 http://sportsnetplus.ca – Stream live on Sportsnet+
💻 http://www.sportsnet.ca – More news & highlights on Sportsnet.ca

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVhibwHk4WKw4leUt6JfRLg
https://www.facebook.com/sportsnet
Tweets by Sportsnet
https://www.instagram.com/sportsnet/

@sportsnet

———————————————-

#NHL

00:00:00 – 1st Regulation Period
00:02:54 – 2nd Regulation Period
00:06:07 – 3rd Regulation Period