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 ground the Jets
Buffalo began this set of games with a Monday night home contest with the veteran Winnipeg Jets. They got a big boost ahead of this one, as their highest paid forward and projected top line center Josh Norris was making his return to the lineup.
Norris’ return yielded immediate results on an early power play opportunity for the Sabres. After receiving the puck in his spot at the top of the circle, he cleverly outwaited a rushing Jets defender to slide the puck to the net-front to Josh Doan, whose shot trickled out behind Jets netminder Eric Comrie’s pads and was finally pushed home by a crashing Jason Zucker.
Bowen Byram doubled the Sabres' lead the shift after, pinging a shot high on the short side to finish off a quick rush attack jump started by a stretch pass from Conor Timmins.
With just over five minutes to go in the first, Norris extended the Sabres lead to 3-0, and added a goal to go alongside his assist.
Once again, the Sabres attacked with speed after a quick transition, and Tage Thompson found Norris at the side of the net. Norris swerved his way in front and jammed the puck into a crowded crease. It bounced its way in and capped off a dominant opening frame for Buffalo.
Buffalo came out with a clear goal: To protect their end of the ice and not jeopardize the three-goal lead they’d earned in the first.
They succeeded for the first half of the period, smothering the Jets and possessing the puck. However, Kyle Connor got the Jets on the board 11:26 into the period by tipping a long range shot past Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen.
Alex Tuch responded quickly with a great individual effort to follow up his own rebound, which he banked in off the Jets' second goalie of the game, Thomas Milic. A huge goal to restore the Sabres' lead and halt any momentum for the Jets.
Less than a minute into the third period, Zach Benson made a great stretch pass to spring Norris on a breakaway. He finished off a slick move by sliding the puck through Milic’s five-hole to add to the Sabres' lead.
Buffalo locked it down effectively, smothering a Jets team that looked defeated and worn out.
It was a great home win to start this set, and head out for their six-game road trip, with the last five games being against Western Conference opponents.
Norris’ return and performance also provided a huge boost for the team. He’s an extremely talented 200-foot center, and there is no team in the NHL that wouldn’t benefit from adding one of those to their ranks.
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Game 2: Flyers bring down Sabres
The Sabres' road trip began with a chaotic opening frame in Philadelphia.
Zucker scored the first goal of the game on the power play thanks to a gorgeous pass from Doan.
Buffalo soon found itself on the penalty kill after Thompson took an offensively lazy hooking minor to end the Sabres' own power play opportunity. Timmins then took another penalty soon after, which cost the Sabres as Travis Konecny fired a wrist shot through a screen in front.
Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff decided to challenge the play for goaltender interference, despite Flyers forward Owen Tippet barely making contact with Sabres goaltender Colten Ellis. Ruff’s challenge predictably failed, and put the Sabres right back on the kill.
Just over 30 seconds into the kill, Trevor Zegras attempted to zip a seam pass across the zone that deflected off Ryan McLeod’s skate, and past Ellis to give the Flyers a 2-0 lead.
21 seconds after that, a breakout pass bounced off Thompson’s back right to Nikita Grebenkin, who pulled away from a looping Thompson, who seemed to have cement in his skates.
Noah Cates shoveled it on net, producing a rebound which Bobby Brink buried home. It was the second shockingly ugly play from Thompson in the first period.
Thompson ended up calling it a "bad bounce" after the game. Sure, the bounce was bad, but so was his effort on the play, which had a lot more to do with the result than any bounce.
The Sabres settled in after the Flyers claimed the 3-1 lead, and found their game to finish out the first.
It didn’t take much time in the second before Buffalo found themselves on the penalty kill once again. The Flyers stayed hot on the man advantage, as Brink found Cates on the backdoor for an easy tap-in to make it 4-1, Flyers.
The Sabres got to their game and strung together some good shifts, applying pressure in the offensive zone. After an unsuccessful power play, Bowen Byram ripped home a wrist shot after a blocked shot bounced its way onto his stick.
Unfortunately, they coughed it right back up less than a minute later.
Matvei Michkov somehow managed to beat three Sabres with a simple backhand pass from the goal line that found Tippett alone in front of the Buffalo net. He batted in his own rebound and made it 5-2, Flyers.
Just when you think the Sabres might be finding something, they’re burned by a lapse in focus in the defensive zone.
Their frustration made itself evident when captain Rasmus Dahlin cross-checked Zegras from behind a few feet from the boards. The play earned him a five-minute major and a game misconduct.
Buffalo was able to avoid more disaster in the second, and escaped to the room down 5-2 without their captain, and knowing the only people to blame are themselves.
The third period then became about playing for pride, as the game was out of reach for the Sabres.
Buffalo was granted a pair of power plays in the first half of the third period, but neither opportunity generated any significant chances.
Benson thought he had his first goal of the year with a little over seven minutes remaining in the game, but it was called back for offside after Flyers head coach Rick Tocchet challenged the play.
Both teams seemed content to let the rest of the game tick away with no real push, and the final buzzer put the Sabres out of their misery.
An embarrassing loss after a great win, an all too familiar story for these Sabres as their season continues to slip away.
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Game 3: Jets strike back
Buffalo headed North after a tough loss to the Flyers to face the Jets for the second time in three games, this time in Winnipeg.
The Sabres had jump to start the period, clearly trying to test Comrie after chasing him from the game in their last matchup.
After Comrie and the Jets warded off the good start from Buffalo, they broke out to an early 1-0 lead. Gabe Vilardi made a nice touch pass to find Kyle Connor at the backdoor, and Luukkonen made the first stop but Connor stuck with it and slipped his own rebound underneath the Sabres netminder.
Buffalo had a few chances on the power play and moved the puck well, and Zucker evened the score after burying a rebound of his own in front of the Winnipeg goal.
The first came to a close tied at 1-1, but the Sabres had played well and had momentum on their side.
A reckless chip pass at the offensive blue line by Tuch was intercepted by the Jets, springing Tanner Pearson on as clear-cut a breakaway as you’ll ever see. He made no mistake, blowing a wrist shot by Luukkonen’s glove to give the Jets a 2-1 lead just a couple minutes into the second period.
Just over 10 minutes in, Luukkonen made a huge save on a penalty shot awarded to Adam Lowry after he was hooked on the Jets' second breakaway of the period to keep the Sabres within one.
Buffalo wouldn’t escape the second period before conceding their third goal-against.
With just over a minute left in the period, Cole Koepke received a seam pass with nothing but Luukkonen to look at. He dismissed the Sabres' lengthy netminder with a simple move to his backhand and guided the puck into an open cage to double the Jets' lead.
Down 3-1 headed into the third, the Sabres faced a big challenge against a veteran Jets team known for their ability to lock down games.
They were unable to muster much of significance in the final 20 minutes, with the only goal in the period coming from the Jets when Vilardi put one into the empty net late to seal it away.
The Jets got their revenge, and sent the Sabres to Calgary with their heads hanging low.
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Game 4: Struggles continue in Calgary
Buffalo continued their road trip to the cold white North in Calgary to play their basement dwelling counterparts in the Flames. Having already suffered an embarrassing loss to the Flames a few weeks before, the Sabres were looking for revenge.
It was a bit of a sloppy start, as both teams got their legs under them for the Monday night matchup.
Just before the 10-minute mark of the first period, Mackenzie Weegar unloaded a slapshot from the blue line that banked off the arm of Yegor Sharangovich, who was screening Luukkonnen. An unfortunate bounce to put the Sabres into a 1-0 hole, but with 50 minutes still remaining, they had plenty of time to get it back.
A few minutes later, the Flames found themselves on a 5-on-3 power play thanks to a pair of penalties by Doan and Quinn.
Rasmus Andersson wound up to hammer a one-timer into a mass of bodies in front of the Buffalo net, but as his stick reached the puck, it blew up, barely propelling the puck toward the net.
The puck bounced off Timmins as it made its way past Luukkonnen, who didn’t seem to make much effort to find the shot originally, and slid to the opposite side because he couldn’t pick up the release.
Buffalo did a good job sticking with it, though, and did their best to steal some momentum, putting five of their seven shots in the first on net after the Flames made it 2-0.
The Sabres entered the room down two, but having found some game as the period expired. The next goal was crucial, and the team knew it.
Calgary put the Sabres on the power play just 2:28 into the middle frame, presenting a golden opportunity for Buffalo to drag itself into the game.
At the very end of the Sabres' man advantage, Zucker made a gorgeous seam pass to find Thompson in prime scoring position. He made no mistake, and plinked a hard wrist shot off the post and in to cut the Flames' lead in half.
The Sabres' energy wouldn’t last long, though, as they put Calgary on another two-man advantage shortly after.
The Flames restored their lead and made it 3-1 when Jonathan Huberdeau finished off a tic-tac-toe play at the side of the net just after the 5-on-3 expired.
The back-and-forth continued, though, as Buffalo caught the Flames on an extended shift, and Owen Power fired a shot in from the top of the circle. It was a big goal for Power, who has been struggling mightily on both sides of the puck for a few weeks now.
If the former No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 NHL Draft is able to find his game and produce while improving play in his own end, it would be a massive boost for the entire organization.
Unfortunately, the blights on his game showed up less than a minute later, as the Sabres failed to follow up a goal with a good shift yet again.
After a brutal giveaway by Jordan Greenway, who was inexplicably playing on the top line, Calgary executed a low East-to-West play that was made possible by Power ignoring Flames star Nazem Kadri streaking to the backdoor right next to him.
It was an all too familiar play from Power, the likes of which make him a lightning rod for a frustrated fanbase.
Buffalo found an answer again, entering the offensive zone with a gorgeous passing play of their own that was chipped in by Dahlin with 3:28 remaining in the second. They kept finding ways to stay in it, and all they had to do was stop getting in their own way defensively.
That proved to be too much to ask, even just for the period, as Calgary jammed in a loose puck in front with three Sabres all standing around to make it 5-3.
There’s plenty of blame to go around on this one, but a save is absolutely needed in this spot. This was Luukkonen’s fourth goal-against on just 20 shots.
No matter the situation, that’s not giving your team a chance to win.
The Sabres' three-goaltender rotation is clearly not working for any of the three, and yet, they seem determined to stick with it.
The chaotic second finally came to a close without another goal, and the Sabres faced a two-goal deficit going into the third.
The Sabres played hard in the third in front of Alex Lyon, who started the third period after Ruff decided he had seen enough of Luukkonen. The Flames defended well, knowing all they had to do was survive to win.
Buffalo did pull within one late in the third on the power play with the goalie pulled when Tuch tipped a Dahlin shot from the point.
But it was all for naught, as the Sabres conceded two empty netters trying to tie the game. This brought the final score to a whopping 7-4, as the Sabres dropped their third-straight contest.
It was, yet, another performance that would lead to jobs lost in most other organizations. Instead, it’s onto Edmonton the next night for the second half of their back-to-back, as their nightmare road trip continues.
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Game 5: Sabres stave off an Oilers comeback
Ellis led the Sabres onto the ice, as they were desperate for their first win on the road trip. He was forced to make a handful of great saves to keep the game scoreless through the majority of the first.
The biggest moment of the first came with 1:35 left, when David Tomasek drove the net hard and put a nasty hit on Ellis. McLeod gave him a hearty crosscheck before Tomasek was escorted to the penalty box.
The Sabres found themselves on the power play, where Doan tipped in a Dahlin point shot to put them up 1-0.
However, during the stoppage following the goal, Ellis was pulled from the game by the NHL’s concussion spotters for an evaluation. Lyon entered the game in relief for the second night in-a-row, but under much different circumstances.
Lyon was forced into a nice save on an East-to-West play to hold the Sabres' lead before the period came to a close.
It was Lyon leading the Sabres back out for the second period, indicating Ellis was unfit to return. An unfortunate break for the young goalie, but a solution for Buffalo’s three-goalie problem, at least temporarily.
It was a back-and-forth affair, with both teams finding some good opportunities in the early stages of the period. Including Thompson putting home a bouncing puck crashing the crease.
Unfortunately, the puck bounced off of Tuch’s glove, and Edmonton successfully challenged for a hand pass, wiping away, what the Sabres thought, was their second goal.
Buffalo responded with vigor, controlling the pace and applying pressure in waves to the Oilers.
Their pressure paid off when Oilers defenseman Evan Bouchard fumbled the puck away to Thompson all alone in front of the Edmonton goal. Thompson zipped it by Stuart Skinner to make things right and put the Sabres up, 2-0.
They didn’t stop there, as less than a minute later, they’d already drawn a penalty. On the power play, Thompson sent a pass down to Doan, who slipped it between his own legs and around Skinner for a sick goal.
The Sabres had found their game, stuck with it, and dominated the Oilers for the remainder of the period.
It only took 10 seconds of the third period for Connor McDavid to drag his team back into the fight, though. McDavid drove the net hard off the wall, using his blazing speed to burn past Tyson Kozak and right around Lyon for the Oilers' first of the game.
Edmonton kept the pressure on, and Vasily Podkolzin was able to bear down on a juicy rebound off a long range shot from Leon Draisaitl that made it 3-2, Sabres, less than two minutes into the third period.
The Oilers continued to skate laps around a tired Sabres team that held on for dear life, praying they could limp to the final buzzer protecting their lead.
McDavid’s magic would not let them off that easy.
With the goalie pulled and time running out, a bouncing puck made its way through the melee of bodies in front of the net, right onto the stick of the greatest player on the planet. McDavid powered it in with just two seconds remaining in regulation to tie the game at 3-3.
A brutal third-period collapse for Buffalo was complete, and the game came down to a five-minute 3-on-3 period with a point still up for grabs.
The overtime started with a great effort from Tuch to go win a battle for possession. On the ensuing possession, McLeod made a great play to zip a centering pass to a streaking Tuch, who slipped it five-hole to win it for the Sabres, 4-3.
Buffalo staved off the Oilers' furious comeback, and picked up their first win of the road trip and earned their fourth point in the final game of this set.
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Highlight players
Josh Doan continued his impressive offensive production, while keeping his energetic and tenacious play style in this set of games. Doan recorded two goals and four assists in this set, continuing to set the tone for a group that clearly needs it. He’s one of the few Sabres who consistently brings the same thing every night, and he should be recognized for it. Buffalo should start considering an extension for the young forward, as he’s in the final year of his entry-level contract.
I struggle to find many other players that were consistently effective in this segment. Plenty of players had a game here or a game there where they were effective:
Dahlin’s producing at a good clip with seven points in this set, but his defensive mistakes continue to show themselves too often.
Benson has played fine, but isn’t producing.
Tuch looks great one night and completely disconnected the next.
And there’s certainly not a goaltender on the roster who has shown anything promising.
Sabres short on points again
The Sabres' inconsistency brought them down once again in this five-game set. After a great start with a dominant win over the Jets, the front end of the road trip was a nightmare. Excuses made by players, a disjointed team, and a coach who sounds increasingly frustrated all point upwards.
Kevyn Adams has been the general manager of the Buffalo Sabres since June 2020, making him the 10th-longest tenured manager in the league. In five seasons under Adams, Buffalo has finished 31st, 24th, 20th, 22nd, and 26th overall in the NHL.
There isn’t much left to say about the Sabres until they move on from Adams. His presence has become associated with the losing ways of the Sabres, as he’s now responsible for over 40% of the second-longest drought in North American professional sports.
It’s possible that owner Terry Pegula finally does make the decision to end Adams’ tenure when they return from this road trip, but I’ll believe it when I see it.
Until that change is made, I don’t see much of anything changing for these Sabres.
They have a chance to prove me wrong in their upcoming segment, where they’ll travel to play the Vancouver Canucks and Seattle Kraken before returning home for a two-game stint against the Flyers and New York Islanders.
They’ll wrap up the set on the road against the Devils as they fight to keep their season alive.
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