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:
Game 1: Sabres' comeback falls short
Buffalo breaks their trend of poor starts in this one, as they come out flying against a struggling Bruins squad. The Sabres played fast, attacking the Bruins in waves clearly wearing them out as the period went.
However their great start hit a speed bump midway through the frame when Rasmus Dahlin took a minor tripping penalty a little over 11 minutes into the game. Morgan Geekie capitalized on a great rush pass by David Patranak and blasted a wrist shot through a sliding Alex Lyon to put Boston ahead by 1.
Pastranak doubled the Bruins lead by slipping a 5-hole shot through Lyon on a clear cut 2 on 1 and the Sabres left a dominant first period down 2-0.
Buffalo would control the second as well, but it took most of the period until Rasmus Dahlin blasted his first of the year in on the power play.
Boston found the back of the net again with just seconds remaining in the middle frame thanks to Mark Kastelic burying a loose puck left by Lyon. Buffalo headed into the third down a pair despite outshooting the Bruins 29-14 through 2 periods.
Through the adversity Buffalo stuck with their game, continuing to dominate Boston all over the ice.
All the hard work done by the Sabres in this game was finally rewarded in the third as Josh Doan would net his 4th of the season after Alex Tuch found him alone in front. Shortly after, Tuch would find himself alone, made possible by a well executed faceoff set play. He made no mistake and tied the game with just over 5 minutes remaining.
Buffalo was able to shut it down and shepherd the game into overtime, extending their point streak to 5 games.
Marat Khusnutdinov won the game for Boston after a few minutes of back and forth action, ripping a shot into the top corner on a 2 on 1 that materialized thanks to Rasmus Dahlin blowing a tire on a zone entry and a poorly judged pursuit by Tage Thompson that left him behind the play.
The comeback falls just short, but unlike the previous two games, the Sabres came back to steal a point instead of giving two away. When looking at the season in the five game chunks we do here, stealing a point after being down 2 in the third is a major victory.
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Game 2: Sabres top the Capitals in a shootout thriller
This one got off to a wild start as Washington pulled away to a 2-0 lead less than 3 minutes into the contest thanks to Dylan Strome burying a rebound, and Alexei Protas putting one away on a clear cut 2 on 0.
Buffalo would respond quickly with a Tage Thompson one-timer from the slot beating Washington goaltender Charlie Lindgren to make it 2-1
The Sabres kept the pressure on with a solid power play that generated some great chances, and were they rewarded for their resilience. Owen Power broke a puck out to Josh Doan flying up ice with Alex Tuch, who Doan found after drawing the lone Capitals defenseman his way. Tuch made no mistake and buried it with a Capitals backchecker draped across his back.
Buffalo would add another late in the period to make it 3-2 with Isak Rosen firing his first NHL goal off a great pass from Jack Quinn. Rosen and his line looked dangerous in his season debut for the Sabres. It’s make or break time for the 22 year-old prospect, and he’s made a great impression in his first 20 minutes.
The second got off to a much tamer start than the first as both teams traded a couple good chances. However, Washington carried the majority of play for the period, and Sonny Milano tied it up in the last minute to enter the third tied at 3.
The Sabres needed to reestablish their game in the third, and chase down a big 2 points early in the year.
Buffalo had a chance early on the power play, but they were unable to convert. They followed up by taking back-to-back penalties. Buffalo’s kill found a way once again, killing off both Capitals advantages.
After a low event stretch in the middle of the period, Buffalo took yet another penalty with just over 3 minutes remaining to give the Capitals another crack. Late game penalties are a consistent issue dating back to last season, and Ruff needs to remove that from the team’s game moving forward.
The kill came up big once again for the Sabres, and they pushed the game into overtime for the fourth straight contest.
UPL stopped a flurry of shots in OT, and proceeded to stop all 5 shots in the shootout to earn the Sabres a win and put an exclamation point on a huge performance that improved as the game went on.
Buffalo picks up the extra point for the first time this season, and carry some momentum into their upcoming contest with the Utah Mammoth.
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Game 3: Mammoth edge out the Sabres
Buffalo dominated the start of this Tuesday night matchup which featured the return of former Sabre JJ Peterka. The Sabres played with great pace and physicality. The worst four minutes for the Sabres came on the power play which was disjointed and ineffective, failing to generate anything dangerous.
Lyon had to make a few big stops, but aside from those limited mistakes, the Sabres had a formula that was working against a red hot Mammoth squad.
Utah flipped the script in the second period, dominating play and outshooting the Sabres 15-5 for the period. Alex Lyon continued his great play, which was highlighted by a pair of penalty kills which saw him make a handful of huge stops to keep the game scoreless.
Lyon provided the Sabres a chance to pick themselves up and get back to the game that was so effective to start the night.
Buffalo did come out with some more jump than they showed in the second, but conceded the first goal of the game to Utah a little under 5 minutes into the 3rd period.
The Sabres stuck with it and Noah Ostlund scored his first NHL goal to tie the game at 1 7:50 in. With both Jiri Kulich and Jason Zucker out due to illness, the contribution from Ostlund is massive.
The Sabres clung on to the 1-1 tie thanks to a few more solid saves from Lyon, extending their point streak to 7 games.
Unfortunately Clayton Keller finished the game quickly, burying a slick 5-hole move through Lyon after speeding past Tuch at the top of the zone.
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Game 4: Sabres fall flat against the struggling Blues
Buffalo started this one just how they should have, outworking a struggling Blues team coming off a back to back. The opening five featured the Sabres forecheck that forced the Blues into mistakes in their own end.
Josh Dunne underscored the physical start by dominating a fight with Blues defenseman Tyler Tucker 6:32 into the period.
Buffalo would earn a chance on the power play after Doan drew a hooking call driving the net, but a bad giveaway at the offensive blueline by Quinn led to a shorthanded breakaway for Mathieu Joseph who put it away to give the Blues a 1-0 lead.
It was a low event back half of the period and the Sabres entered the first intermission down 1 against a Blues squad that has only 4 wins on the year.
A sluggish start to the second cost the Sabres as UPL waved at a long range wrist shot from Nick Bjugstad. This would be the second time Luukkonnen’s given up a bad goal to the glove side at a pivotal time in a game.
Buffalo followed up with a Tuch tripping penalty to put themselves down a man, and swung all momentum in St Louis’s favor.
St. Louis would carry the play until the 10 minute mark of the period, where the Sabres found some life and generated good opportunities. Joel Hofer, who prior to this game had been struggling mightily, made some great saves and kept the Blues ahead.
The Sabres had their second opportunity on the power play with just over 6:00 minutes remaining in the period. This attempt went better than their first in that they didn’t give up a short handed goal, but they once again failed to generate anything of significance on the man advantage.
Buffalo started the third with a good shift after being booed off the ice following their poor second period, and would earn a power play two minutes in.
The Sabres were able to generate more chances than their previous attempts, but Hofer once again stood strong and made a handful of huge stops.
Buffalo’s play improved slightly in the final frame, continuing to play stingy defense and generating a few more high danger chances. Hofer’s impressive night and a few posts kept Buffalo off the board.
The buzzer would sound with the Sabres kept off the board. A demoralizing 3-0 loss to a basement dwelling team.
Things have taken a downturn as this 5 game segment has progressed, and they did not get any better ahead of a tough matchup with the Carolina Hurricanes. Prior to this one, the Sabres announced that their captain Rasmus Dahlin would be returning home to Sweden to attend to a personal matter.
This is not the time or the place to discuss Dahlin’s decision, it is a time to show support for a beloved athlete who gives back to the community as much as anyone. Some things in life rise above all else, including sport and work, and that must be respected.
So, the Sabres head into the biggest stretch of the season thus far looking up at the rest of the division, desperately needing to hold their heads above water in an extremely tight Eastern Conference.
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Game 5: Carolina dominates the Sabres again
Buffalo’s road trip did not get off to the start they were looking for, as the team looked loose and disengaged to start this matchup with an elite Hurricanes team.
Carolina would capitalize on the sloppy play just 5 minutes into the game. Andrei Svechnikov burst out of the Carolina zone, dismissed a defending Jack Quinn to create a 2 on 1, and dished a gorgeous pass to Sebastian Aho who blasted it past Lyon.
The Sabres showed a little life with an equalizer a few minutes later. After forcing a turnover, Noah Ostlund found a seam to get the puck to Power who did a great job to dive into open space in the slot and fired a wrist shot into the net.
The first would come to a close knotted at 1, with the Sabres being outshot 10-6 by a dominant Hurricanes team with 10 wins under their belt.
Things went from bad to worse in the second, Carolina came out flying and drew a roughing minor 3 minutes into the frame. On the ensuing penalty kill, Svechnikov would hurt the Sabres again, hammering a one-timer into the short side corner to give the Hurricanes the lead.
Carolina took advantage of the long change in the second period, hemming the Sabres into their own end a handful of times and dominating both the shot clock and possession.
The Hurricanes inevitably scored another before the period expired, stretching their lead to 2 heading into the third.
Carolina wasted no time in the third, just 30 seconds in, former Sabre Erik Robinson was sprung into a 1 on 1 with Bowen Byram. Robinson muscled past Byram and shoveled a 5-hole shot that made its way through Lyon. A backbreaking mistake from both Byram and Lyon that buried the team in a 3 goal hole.
The Sabres played their best hockey in the third, with Tuch and Thompson both scoring to pull them within one with just under 13 minutes remaining.
Unfortunately Carolina proved too tough to break as the Sabres continued their push, but fell short with the net empty, allowing a pair into the open cage and ending their comeback attempt.
Buffalo’s near 10 year losing streak in Carolina continues following another disappointing effort.
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Highlight players
Isak Rosen saw his first action for the Sabres this season in this stretch thanks to the injuries that continue to pile up for the Sabres. While not terribly impressive, Rosen has been solid, recording a goal and an assist in his 4 games so far. His talent is obvious as he feels comfortable making plays with the puck on his stick and moves around the ice well. Buffalo will need him to take another step moving forward with the injuries they are facing.
Alex Tuch currently leads the Sabres in points with 14 in 15 games, and is playing for a fat new contract. He’s included as a highlight player thanks to his continued goal scoring prowess, which the Sabres desperately need. His veteran presence will be key in the upcoming games, especially with the team facing this level of adversity. He does however need to start playing with a bit more consistency and eliminate some of the easy mistakes from his game.
Sabres only gain 4-of-10 points
The Sabres fell short of their goal again only banking 4 of 10 points, putting them on a 77 point pace. This combined with the parity in the Eastern Conference this season, has pushed the Sabres back down into the bottom of the standings.
To make matters worse, they will be without their best player and captain in Dahlin and their first and second line centers in Norris and Kulich.
The next 5 game set likely determines the direction of the season.
Buffalo now has to scratch and claw to earn the right to even stay in the fight for playoffs, and if they fall short again in this stretch, it could spell the end of any realistic hope to make a run. The fanbase’s frustration is growing, and pressure is mounting.
It’s all on the line for these Sabres now. The question is if they will play like it.
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