Alex Lyon made 37 saves to set a Buffalo Sabres franchise record with his 10th consecutive win, and Alex Tuch recorded a hat trick as Buffalo defeated the Los Angeles Kings, 4-1, on Thursday night at KeyBank Center. The Sabres improved to 31-17-5 and extended their win streak to five games, continuing a surge that has seen them go 20-3-1 over their past 24 contests.
Lyon surpassed the previous franchise mark held by Gerry Desjardins, who won nine straight games in December 1976. The Sabres goaltender turned aside sustained pressure throughout the night, particularly during Los Angeles power plays, to anchor another strong defensive effort.
Tuch opened the scoring on the power play at 7:14 of the first period, deflecting a shot from the right circle that slipped through Darcy Kuemper’s pads. Mattias Samuelsson doubled the lead at 11:17 when his slap shot from the blue line glanced off Kuemper’s glove and crossed the line.
Buffalo stretched the advantage to 3-0 midway through the second period as Tuch tipped a Bowen Byram point shot into the net. Los Angeles responded with a power-play goal from Adrian Kempe at 7:47, but the Kings were unable to generate further offense.
Tuch sealed the win with an empty-net goal at 19:00 of the third period to complete his hat trick. Jack Quinn finished with three assists and Ryan McLeod added two helpers for Buffalo.
Kuemper made 28 saves for Los Angeles, which fell to 22-17-3 after bringing a six-game point streak into the game.
Next, the Sabres host the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday at 7 p.m.
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Kyle leads sports coverage and hosts the Concrete Jungle podcast. Have a lead or question? Send it to [email protected].