Sabres Shoot For Seven in a Row

Buffalo Sabres (17-14-4) vs Ottawa Senators (18-13-4)

Puck Drop: 7:00 pm Eastern Time | Canadian Tire Center | Ottawa, Ontario

TV: MSG, ESPN+

Radio: WGR 550

Know Your Opponent

Ottawa Senators

Record: (18-13-4) | 40 PTS

Last Game: Beat Boston 6-2

Division Ranking: 6th in the Atlantic

PP: 7th, 25.0% (Sabres: 14th, 20.4%)

PK: 31st, 71.0% (Sabres: 1st, 84.8%)

What to Watch

1) A Turn of Events

This is getting serious, folks. After a disastrous showing in Calgary not long ago, the Buffalo Sabres found themselves three games under .500 and sinking fast. They lost three in a row and once again all hope looked lost. The team was struggling, old wounds were cut open again and it looked like the players were ready to check out on the season. Then something happened, a turn of events nobody foresaw. In the middle of a six game roadtrip without a win, the Sabres suddenly started to gel. They were doing all the little things right. Finishing their checks, winning more battles, scoring some clutch goals and most importantly, getting better play between the pipes. They have now rattled off six wins in a row that has positioned them back in the chase for the post season.

Buffalo will go for lucky number seven tonight, with a regulation victory giving them identical records with the Senators. That is a Christmas gift nobody was expecting. A Festivus miracle even. It would also pull them within 1 point of Boston and New Jersey (depending on the results of their games tonight) and shockingly right in the thick of this playoff race. They need to pull out all the stops to make this happen before the Christmas break.

2) Sens Will be Ready

Ottawa is rolling pretty well right now too, winning four in a row. Brady Tkachuk and Tim Stutzle are leading the charge. Tkachuk has five goals in his last five games and Stutzle has racked up an amazing ten points in his last five. Linus Ullmark was just named one of the three stars of the week and has been solid this season.

Buffalo has dominated the Sens of late, sweeping the season series last year and taking game 1 this season by a score of 8-4. The Sabres will need all hands on deck to beat them again. A team’s fortunes can sometimes be determined within a few games in the season, and this might very well be one of them.

3) Goaltending Will be Key

Alex Lyon has won five games in a row and has been largely responsible for those victories. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen just turned in maybe his best performance of the season against the Devils. I expect Lyon to be back in the nets again tonight and another strong performance will be needed. But the Sabres cannot depend on him alone. They must continue the solid defensive play we have seen of late, strong backchecking and physical play with clean breakouts from their own zone. The offense must come to play as well, keep Ottawa pinned with a strong forecheck and get to the net with more shots. You don’t beat Ullmark often without a redirection or screen. I cannot stress it enough, GET TO THE NET! A strong offensive showing is sometimes the best defense of all.

Dec 20, 2025; Buffalo, New York, USA; Buffalo Sabres goaltender Alex Lyon (34) during a stoppage in play against the New York Islanders at KeyBank Center. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images

Projected Lineups

Buffalo Sabres

Forwards

Peyton Krebs – Tage Thompson – Josh Doan
Noah Ostlund – Josh Norris – Alex Tuch
Zach Benson – Ryan McLeod – Jack Quinn
Josh Dunne – Beck Malenstyn – Jordan Greenway

Defense

Rasmus Dahlin – Mattias Samuelsson
Owen Power – Michael Kesselring
Bowen Byram – Zach Metsa

Goalies: Alex Lyon, Ukko Pekka Luukkonen

Ottawa Senators

Forwards

Brady Tkachuk – Tim Stutzle – Fabian Zetterlund
David Perron – Dylan Cozens – Drake Batherson
Michael Amadio – Ridly Greig – Claude Giroux
Kurtis MacDermid – Stephen Halliday – Nick Cousins

Defense

Jake Sanderson – Artem Zub
Thomas Chabot – Jordan Spence
Nikolas Matinpalo – Nick Jensen

Goalies: Linus Ullmark, Leevi Merilainen