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' flat start costs them in Montreal
Buffalo came out of the gates sleepy and disjointed, a common theme through the early part of the season. They left the first period, being outshot 14-6, and down a goal to the young Canadiens.
Alex Lyon’s play and some savvy breakout adjustments allowed the Sabres to drag themselves into the game. Jiri Kulich found his second goal of the year off a nice feed from Zach Benson to tie the game at 1-1 with a little over 13 minutes to go in the middle frame.
After giving up a pair to start the third period, Buffalo answered with a Tyson Kozak goal to pull them within one. They were noticeably quicker and generally better than they were in the early on, but couldn’t get another by Montreal goaltender Jakub Dobes.
Montreal added an empty netter with 30 seconds remaining to seal the game, as Buffalo was unable to even the score.
Dobes played a solid game for the Canadiens, with his best saves coming in the final frame.
A disappointing loss to a division opponent, yes, but there was some good to take away.
The Sabres played one of their better games at 5-on-5, and had every chance to win the game, had they found a way to finish.
Another bad start left them chasing, but it was not an embarrassing effort like their previous losses. There was a noticeable snarl to the group, more physical play, and a willingness to stick up for one another.
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Game 2: Ellis beats Red Wings in NHL debut
After a scoreless first period, former Sabres draft pick J.T. Compher found the back of the net after being left alone in front to bury a juicy rebound from goaltender Colten Ellis in his NHL debut.
Buffalo responded, though, with a 2-on-1 goal from Jason Zucker that was made possible by an incredible series of plays from Jack Quinn.
Kozak added another a few minutes later to give Buffalo the lead, but Detroit quickly responded to tie the game at 2-2 heading into the third period.
Quinn hammered a one-timer past Red Wings goaltender John Gibson on the power play to put the Sabres up, 3-2, adding a goal onto an already impressive performance for the young forward.
Alex Tuch then tipped a Josh Doan one-timer in about halfway through the final frame to double the Sabres' lead.
Buffalo played an effective closing period, limiting the Red Wings' opportunities and taking little risk. A mature performance to seal a 4-2 win against a division opponent.
Buffalo picked up a huge two points with another solid performance, led by Ellis, who stopped 27-of-29 shots faced to secure his first NHL win.
Ellis didn’t have much action in the early part of the game, as Buffalo started with back-to-back power plays. He found puck touches, and settled into the game, making a few massive stops.
It was a fifth-straight game where the Sabres played well, formulating an identity of a team that plays a hard, smart, opportunistic style while displaying an understanding of how to lock it down and get it to the garage when needed.
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Game 3: Sabres outgun Maple Leafs in Buffalo
A wild start to this one felt like watching a group of buddies rip around for the greatest pond hockey game ever played.
Mattias Samuelsson got things started a little less than five minutes in with a gorgeous shot from the slot, set up by a great pass from Ryan McLeod and some gritty wall work by Tuch.
William Nylander answered with a breakaway goal on the following shift when he got loose behind the Sabres defense, because Kozak rushed off the ice with an injury. Kozak would not return to the game.
The chaos continued with a gorgeous tic-tac-toe play from Tage Thompson to Benson, capped off with an incredible against-the-grain one-timer by Kulich into the top corner.
Kulich looks to be back to the player we saw last season after a sluggish start.
Matthews tied the game at 2-2 with a one-timer on the power play to wrap up the first period.
Both teams' old school head coaches Lindy Ruff and Craig Berube seemed to settle their groups in the intermission, as the second period was a much tighter style of play. Despite the squeeze, Buffalo added a pair of goals to take a 4-2 lead, with Thompson burying his second of the year and Samuelsson doing the same.
The game called for another lockdown third period from the Sabres, and they delivered.
Toronto pulled to within one just a couple minutes into the frame, but Buffalo never looked tense. They showed, once again, a willingness to be patient and play smart to protect a lead.
Buffalo was eventually rewarded with a shorthanded break for Tuch off a great pass from Owen Power to go up 5-3.
Lyon made a massive stop just before the Tuch goal that sealed the game, illustrating the momentum that can be gained when you have a goaltender making big, timely saves.
While Lyon didn’t seem to have his best stuff, finding a win with a “B” game, is an underrated skill in this league. No goalie will have their best every night, and winning with timely saves and gutsy efforts can be just as crucial as stealing a game for your team.
Buffalo pulled out a win on, what is always, an exciting night with the Maple Leafs coming to town. The building had energy, and it seemed to fuel the Sabres, propelling them to a sixth-straight game where we saw a team that looks like it can compete with just about anyone.
The Sabres matched their point total from the first five-game segment in only three games.
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Game 4: Maple Leafs halt Buffalo's winning streak in Toronto
In the second half of a home-and-home series with their in division rival, goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonnen made his first start of the season in unexpected fashion, as the plan was for Ellis to start, but he woke up feeling less than 100%.
Luukkonnen was the Sabres' projected starter coming into the year, but sustained an injury early in training camp that held him out until this game.
A shaky season last year for Luukkonnen has pushed doubt into many fans' minds about his ability to be a full-time starter in the NHL. The consistent play of Lyon in his stead, and the addition of the talented youngster Ellis means Luukkonnen is stepping into an extremely high pressure situation, and needs to play well to keep a role in the crease for the Sabres.
Thompson got things started a little over halfway through the first period, as the Sabres finally got off to a good start, outshooting the Maple Leafs, 12-6. Toronto tied it up with under two minutes remaining when Nicholas Roberston found a soft spot in the Sabres defense and buried a nice low-to-high pass.
Toronto took the lead early in the second frame off a somewhat broken play in front that led to a tip-in from right beside the Sabres net. While not an egregious error by Luukkonnen, he seemed to get locked in place and was unable to seal the lower part of the net on the tip.
Bowen Byram responded for Buffalo, though, with a seeing-eye shot from the blue line, knotting the game at 2-2 late in the second period. Toronto carried the play for the most part in this period, but Buffalo continued to play strong, limiting high danger chances-against and producing a few solid chances.
Thompson found his second of the game on the power play off a juicy rebound produced by a Rasmus Dahlin shot, pushing the Sabres ahead by one with a little over 10 minutes to go. This is a spot we’ve seen the Sabres succeed in this year, playing patient and smart hockey to protect a lead.
One of, if not the biggest factor in a situation like this is having a goaltender make a timely save when it’s needed. Something the Sabres have been able to count on all season long, until this game.
Toronto tied the game with just under seven minutes remaining. After hitting a wall of Sabres defenders, an off-balance Dakota Joshua wristed a shot on net that squeezed its way underneath Luukkonnen’s stabbing glove and in. A goal that, frankly, should never go in on an NHL goaltender, finds a way at the worst possible time.
After surviving the rest of regulation and earning one point, the game headed to 3-on-3 overtime to decide who takes home the extra point.
Buffalo looked dangerous, but couldn’t capitalize on their opportunities. After Power fumbled the puck away on Buffalo’s best chance of the overtime, Toronto veteran John Tavares buried a shot over Luukkonnen’s shoulder.
A great effort in which the Sabres carried the play was undone by a goaltender for the first time this season. Unfortunately, Luukkonnen cost his team a point, and gifted a pair to a division rival that will likely be fighting to the very end to get in.
Luukkonnen has all the talent in the world, but seems to struggle again-and-again to come up with the big save when it’s needed.
A story Sabres fans got too familiar with last season with the Finnish goaltender.
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Game 5: Sabres let another slip away against Columbus
Buffalo sticks to their trend of not starting the game on time. They came out in this one looking like they did in their first three games of the year: Slow, sloppy, and disjointed with a complete lack of compete.
They escaped the opening 20 minutes down only one, despite being outshot, 14-9.
After, what must’ve been, a motivating intermission, Buffalo came out for the second period absolutely flying. They were moving their feet, transitioning the puck up the ice quickly, and relentlessly pressuring in the little time they didn’t control the puck.
At the end of a great shift, a bouncing puck shot by Conor Timmins and tipped by Tuch found its way to a lonely Doan in front. He hammered a one-timer that trickled through Blue Jackets goaltender Jet Greaves to tie the game.
The Sabres continued to dominate the second, as a McLeod floater from the top of the zone banked off a Columbus defenseman and in to give the Sabres a 2-1 lead.
Zach Werenski tied the game for the Blue Jackets with a power play goal late in the middle frame that snuck its way under Lyon.
This was the first goal all season I truly would put on Lyon, a long range one-timer that goes right underneath him. Granted there was a decent screen in front, but when playing a shot like that, the goaltender’s job is to seal the bottom of the ice and not get beat through their body or under them. If he dropped into a sealed butterfly right off the release, the puck would’ve hit him right in the pads.
Josh Dunne scored the first of his NHL career early in the third period to put an exclamation point on, what was, his best game of the season thus far. Similar to Doan’s goal, Dunne was rewarded for getting to the front of the net and buried a rebound to put the Sabres back ahead by one.
For the second-straight game, Buffalo had a one-goal lead in the third period and just needed to hunker down and play stingy defense.
Despite defending well for the most part, Columbus tied the game thanks to Miles Wood finding a soft spot between Power and Timmins, and tipping a point shot past Lyon. With just over six minutes remaining, attention turns to banking the single point earned by pushing a game to overtime.
After the teams wasted the remaining minutes left, the game went on to 3-on-3 overtime, where, once again, the Sabres had some prime opportunities to put the game away, namely a clear cut breakaway for Kulich, thwarted.
Columbus won it with just seconds remaining after Werenski found Wood for his second of the game in front of the Buffalo net. Wood shook loose from Power after beating him off the wall back to the Sabres net. Kulich also vacated the middle of the ice, giving Werenski the room to find Wood back door, illustrating how simple details cost teams wins.
Buffalo let their second-straight third-period lead slip away into an overtime loss, but aside from the ugly first, it was another solid effort.
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Highlight players
Samuelsson seemed to really return to the form that earned him his contract in this five-game stretch. There was a noticeable uptick in his physical impact on the game, he was a staunch defender, and even added some offense to boot. Samuelsson becoming a solid middle-four defenseman would be huge for the Sabres moving forward.
Kulich also saw a huge improvement from his early play, seeming to really find his legs and skating with the puck. His offensive production also saw a big bump, adding four points (2+2) in this segment. Kulich stepping up will be a big factor in the Sabres' ability to tread water without Josh Norris.
Kesselring only made his debut in the final game of this five-game segment, but projects to be a huge piece of the Sabres' top-four moving forward. In his one game, he transitioned the puck very effectively and played with an edge that, at his size, was effective. If Kesselring settles in properly, this will be a premier defensive corps in the NHL.
One player the Sabres need more from is their captain. With a defenseman of Dahlin's caliber, the expectations are that he is the best, or close to the best player for Buffalo every single night. This has not been the case most nights. He looks to be struggling in his own end, makes far too many easy mistakes, and has not created as much offensively as we have come to expect.
Buffalo has survived without him at his best, but if they want to make a real push for playoffs, they will need him to step up.
Sabres meet their goal, banking 6-of-10 points
The Sabres stash points in 4-of-5 games in this segment, recording two wins, a regulation loss and two overtime losses. They performed admirably in all five games, building on the two wins that capped off the first chunk of the season.
After showing flashes against the Ottawa Senators and Florida Panthers, the team appears to be establishing a consistent identity based on quick transition, hard forechecking and stingy defense. They’ll need to continue to build their identity and carry momentum, as they’re still one point behind the pace set by Ruff.
Buffalo kicks off the next five-game segment on the road Thursday against the Boston Bruins.
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