Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR Sports Radio 550) – Over the course of the 2025-26 Buffalo Sabres season, we’ll be looking back after every five games, inspired by head coach Lindy Ruff’s philosophy of gaining six points out of a possible 10 in every five-game stretch. We will recap the previous segment of games, and share some thoughts on what was seen on the ice.
Here’s a look back at the last five games for Buffalo:
Photo credit Bob Frid – Imagn Images
Game 1: Sabres edge out Canucks
The Sabres fired up this five-game set with a road game in Vancouver to take on a floundering Canucks squad that seems to be circling the drain.
Buffalo was effective in the first at limiting the Canucks’ opportunities, allowing Alex Lyon to settle into his first start in a few weeks. He’d appeared in the last two games due to injury and poor performance from his counterparts, but that much time in-between starts can be intimidating.
Rasmus Dahlin opened the scoring, as he one-timed a fluttering low-to-high pass from Ryan McLeod. The puck seemed to dip on its way by Canucks netminder Thatcher Demko, who was making his first start back from injury.
It was a smart play by Dahlin to send the unpredictable shot on net, and it put the Sabres up 1-0 just 7:36 into the game.
Vancouver broke a power play drought that lasted 21 attempts late in the period to even the score at 1-1 when Kiefer Sherwood banged home a quick rebound at the side of the goal.
The Canucks struck again early in the second period when Max Sasson skated right between Mattias Samuelsson and Bowen Byram to give himself a breakaway. He slipped a shot past Lyon to make it 2-1, Canucks.
The Sabres didn’t let the momentum swing hurt them, though.
At the 9:12 mark of the middle frame, Dahlin found Tage Thompson with nothing but space at the top of the circle, and he rarely misses from there. He wired a wrist shot past Demko to tie the game at 2-2.
This turned the tide for the Sabres, and they added another before the second period came to a close when Zach Benson scored his first goal of the year on the power play.
Benson did a great job sneaking into some open space, where Josh Doan sent a gorgeous one-touch pass right on his tape.
Buffalo headed into a third period that demanded conservative play, focused on limiting chances against and letting the game bleed away.
Aided by a handful of great saves by Lyon, who put on a rock solid performance, the Sabres were able to do just that. They weathered the storm from the Canucks, and guided the game to the final buzzer.
It was a solid road win to start this set, and they’d look to finish the six-game road trip strong.
Photo credit Blake Dahlin – Imagn Images
Game 2: Sabres grind Kraken down
Buffalo wrapped up their long road trip in Seattle, coming off back-to-back wins and in a good position on the ice. Despite the off-ice buzz about organizational changes, the team has been improving their play and finding their game more regularly.
The Sabres kept their momentum going, controlling play and pace with the puck and dominating the Kraken early in the contest.
In his first game back after being forced down to the American Hockey League due to a numbers crunch, Noah Ostlund scored his fourth goal of the year to open the scoring. Josh Norris made a beautiful one-touch pass, which Ostlund buried after Alex Tuch sprung them for a quick 2-on-1, putting the Sabres up 1-0 late in the first period.
The Kraken settled into the game, finding some push in the early parts of the second.
Seattle’s momentum was stymied by Thompson at 10:08 of the second, as he polished off a mini 2-on-0. Tuch made a great play to steal a puck from a clueless Kraken defender, and found Peyton Krebs and Thompson alone in front.
Leading 2-0 halfway through the game, it was time to see the Sabres get back to the mature play that’s led them to their recent success.
A little over two minutes later, the Kraken found a response on the power play.
Chandler Stevenson received a pass just after the offensive zone draw and walked down to the dot, firing the puck in off the near side post. Lyon had no way to see it, as Jordan Eberle planted himself right in his sightline.
Seattle made it 2-1 and cut the Sabres’ lead in half.
From that point on, Lyon was the star of the game, making some really difficult saves look easy. He seemed to get back to a bit of what brought him success early in the season. He read plays early, moved with a purpose, and looked calm doing it – all of which are massive compliments for a goaltender.
He and the Sabres weathered the attack by the Kraken for the remainder of the second, and almost all of the third period, locking it down for the most part and getting the saves they needed on the odd chance Seattle did generate.
Benson added an empty-net goal with less than a minute to go, sealing the game and earning the Sabres another two points. It was a solid effort all around, and seeing Lyon find his game could be key moving forward.
Photo credit Bruce Bennett – Getty Images
Axe comes down on Adams
Soon after returning home from their road trip, the rumors surrounding the Sabres came true on Monday with the firing of general manager Kevyn Adams.
Adams held the general manager position for five-and-a-half seasons, failing to reach the playoffs in the entirety of his tenure, and repeatedly upsetting an already disgruntled fanbase. The time for change had long passed, and there was a clear sigh of relief from Sabres fans across the board with the announcement.
With Adams out the door, the Sabres announced Jarmo Kekäläinen was taking over as general manager on a full-time basis. Before joining the Sabres, Kekäläinen had served as the general manager of the Columbus Blue Jackets for parts of 12 seasons.
Kekäläinen is widely regarded as a lifelong hockey man with a great amount of respect around the NHL, and one who had success doing the job in a small market city. The announcement immediately returned some of the respect lost thanks to years of incompetence and failure.
Photo credit Timothy T. Ludwig – Imagn Images
Game 3: Sabres surge against Flyers
The Sabres returned to KeyBank Center refreshed, under new management, and riding a three-game winning streak ro take on a Philadelphia Flyers team that handed them a loss earlier in the month.
Buffalo did not take advantage of the momentum, though, as they struggled mightily to start the game. Every possession for the Sabres seemed to end with a rogue pass picked off by the Flyers. It was a disjointed mess that had fans groaning in the stands.
Buffalo did strike first, though, with Jack Quinn chipping home a smooth shot pass from Samuelsson to take a 1-0 lead 7:40 in.
The Flyers wouldn’t let that stand for long, as they earned the equalizer less than a minute later. Bobby Brink made a great play to beat Thompson off the wall, and he found an open Noah Cates, who fired a quick snapshot past Lyon.
Philadelphia continued to dominate for the remainder of the first, outshooting the Sabres, 12-4. Buffalo miraculously escaped the first tied at 1-1, but needed a big shift in momentum.
Things didn’t improve to start the second, as the Flyers controlled the puck and Buffalo still seemed to be unable to get their legs under them.
With 8:29 left in the middle period, Cam York found a soft spot in the Sabres’ defensive zone off the high cycle. Trevor Zegras slipped a pass to him on the right side of the slot, and York swept the puck by Lyon to put the Flyers up 2-1.
Philadelphia’s first lead seemed to poke the Sabres into waking up and finding their game.
At the 16:54 mark of the second period, Dahlin made an absurd between-the-legs drop pass to Thompson in the offensive zone to give him a great look at the net. Thompson made a brilliant move to beat a Flyers defender and push the puck to the middle, where he rifled it in off the post to tie the game at 2-2.
Buffalo took the lead just before the second came to an end when Ostlund launched a long range shot on net. It worked its way through the crowd and past Flyers netminder Samuel Ersson.
The Sabres found their way to a 3-2 lead going into the third period after really only playing well for 10 minutes.
They carried their momentum into the final 20 minutes, and Norris extended the Sabres lead 10:20 into the final frame with a savvy five-hole tuck on the power play.
Things did get tense for a few minutes when Travis Konecny made it 4-3 with a little over five minutes remaining, but McLeod fired a puck into an open net to end it at 5-3.
Photo credit Timothy T. Ludwig – Imagn Images
Game 4: Sabres squeeze past Islanders
It was the Sabres captain igniting a sold out home crowd less than two minutes into the first period of a late Saturday afternoon affair with the New York Islanders.
Dahlin skated the puck right up the gut on the power play, dancing through a trio of Islanders defenders and chipping one around the glove of Islanders goaltender David Rittich to give the Sabres an early 1-0 lead. It was the stuff many Sabres fans clamored over when he was the shimmering prospect playing in Sweden ahead of his draft year.
Buffalo kept the pressure on, and thought it had doubled its lead on their second power play of the game. However, Benson made contact with Rittich before a Norris one-timer crossed the line, negating the score.
The Islanders found a way to get some zone time about halfway through the period, but Buffalo quickly took control back and dominated the remainder of the first. They played with a pace the Islanders seemed unable to match, and left the opening period up 1-0.
Buffalo stuck to the same script coming out of the locker room, dominating the Islanders up-and-down the ice.
Thompson potted the Sabres’ second of the game and his sixth in as many games with 11:05 left in the second period. After a neutral zone turnover by the Islanders, he attacked from the halfwall and found a way to slip the puck behind and around Rittich at the near-side post with some quick hands.
New York picked it up for the remainder of the period, forcing Lyon to make a few huge saves before Matt Barzal followed up his own rebound for the Islanders’ first goal of the game.
Buffalo needed to reset and get back to its controlled game in the third to protect their 2-1 lead and earn a fifth-straight win.
They executed the plan to near perfection, smothering the Islanders and only allowing a handful of shots until the final minutes of the game.
A frustrating penalty taken by Michael Kesselring, who still seems to be searching for his game in Buffalo, put the Islanders on the power play with 1:27 to go in the third, and suddenly the tension rose.
New York pulled Rittich to go up another man and make it a 6-on-4 advantage. The gamble paid off when Matthew Barzal zipped a seam pass across the zone to Emil Heineman, who scored with 28 seconds remaining.
All the Sabres’ hard work to protect their third-period lead is undone by a careless slashing penalty, and now they’ve got to fight to get a crucial point up for grabs in overtime.
Lyon made a handful of huge stops in the five-minute overtime that held the game at 2-2 heading into the shootout, where Josh Norris scored the game-winner and Lyon stopped 4-of-5 Islanders attempts.
Buffalo weathered the storm and earned their fifth-straight victory, and had KeyBank Center rocking on a Saturday night.
There’s a refreshed vibe surrounding the team under their new general manager, and the fans made their appreciation known.
Photo credit Bruce Bennett – Getty Images
Game 5: Sabres stay hot against Devils
Buffalo rolls into New Jersey hot on the heels of another victory for the second half of a back-to-back against a potent Devils team that was getting both Jack Hughes and Timo Meier back for the first time in a few weeks.
Despite the travel and having played the night before, the Sabres came out with good pace and controlled the opening five minutes of play.
The Devils turned it on, though, and with 11:09 left in the first, Hughes took advantage of a miscommunication between Doan and Kesselring that opened up a prime shooting lane. Hughes blew it by goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen to make it 1-0 Devils.
New Jersey’s dynamic superstar made an immediate impact in his return.
It was more of the same for the remainder of the first period, with the Devils generating chance-after-chance.
Luukkonen came up with great saves, including his best of the year on a 2-on-1 where he made a jaw dropping glove stop. He was the sole reason the Sabres were able to escape the opening 20 minutes down only by a goal.
Buffalo dug in and got gritty to start the second period, getting pucks deep and playing direct up-and-down the ice.
They were rewarded with a goal to fit the theme, as Norris fought for net-front positioning and banged home a rebound to tie the game at 1-1 just 2:26 in.
After a long stretch of dominant play from Buffalo, McLeod sprung Benson and Quinn on a low 2-on-1. Benson eyed Quinn like he wanted to slide a pass over, but rolled his wrist over and fired a quick shot low to beat goalie Jake Allen with a nasty no-look shot.
It was one of the Sabres’ most impressive periods of the year, completely flipping the script after struggling in the first. Buffalo completely wore down the Devils, and earned the right to sit back and defend a 2-1 lead for the final 20 minutes.
Luukkonen backstopped another solid period, and the team was effective at eliminating high-danger chances against. When needed, their goaltender made stops, and they looked like a team on the same page playing for the same goal.
With just over a minute remaining, Krebs busted down the ice to a loose puck and an open cage, and sealed a 3-1 Sabres win with a pure effort goal, and the first of his season.
The Sabres picked up their sixth-straight win with a gutsy road effort in the second half of a back-to-back, one of their most impressive performances of the season.
Luukkonen also put together his best game of the year right as the Sabres are trying to make a difficult decision on which goaltender to move on from.
Photo credit Timothy T. Ludwig – Imagn Images
Highlight players
Tage Thompson scored four goals in this five-game set, and has gotten back to dominating the way Sabres fans have come to expect. His all-world skills and lethal shot inject the Sabres offense with easy goals, a massive asset for any team that allows depth to play free of expectation. When he has confidence, and boy does he now, there are few players in the league who can generate chances out of thin air the way Thompson does.
Alex Lyon won all four of his appearances in this set, posting a .932 save percentage and stabilizing the position for the Sabres. His calm demeanor and knack for the big save at the right time are key to his success. It’s clear to me he was working on some things to start the year, and they seem to have clicked for him. Buffalo’s goaltending has been shaky since his play dipped early in the year, so having him back in good form is huge. There are rumors swirling about a possible trade shipping Lyon out, but I would be stunned if the Sabres ousted their most consistent answer in goal.
Rasmus Dahlin has been the Sabres’ best player since returning from his leave of absence earlier in the season. His ability to completely control the game when he is on the ice cannot be overstated, and his five points in these five games only tell part of the story. Dahlin has eliminated the mistakes that were in his game early in the season, and has been defending at an elite level. He is the beating heart of this Sabres organization right now, and his play is a major factor in their recent success.
Photo credit Bob Frid – Imagn Images
Sabres go undefeated
The Sabres won every game in this five-game set, banking all 10 points in the standings. Their winning ways, combined with the front office changes, have fans ready to come running back to Downtown Buffalo.
Things now look as promising as they have in many years for the Sabres, and one can feel the buzz growing by the day.
On the ice, the Sabres seem to have committed to playing the way their coach demands, and found more trust in one another. They’ve demonstrated a growing ability to understand how to lock down games, and an improved level of perseverance when things get tough.
Maybe most importantly, their best players are consistently dominating games, which allows the rest of the lineup to play their roles.
Off the ice, they are under new management with Kekäläinen, who was already hard at work filling out the front office with names like Marc Bergevin and Josh Flynn. The organization’s respect around the league has already skyrocketed with the changes, and more are likely on the way.
The Sabres now look ahead to their next set of five games that starts with a road matchup against the Ottawa Senators before Christmas. They will then return for the lone home game of the set against the Boston Bruins before heading back out on the road for games against the St. Louis Blues, Dallas Stars, and Blue Jackets.
Buffalo’s six-game winning streak provides them an opportunity to stay hot, and drag themselves back into the thick of a playoff race. If they do, they’ll have the full support of one of the best hockey markets around behind them.