Dallas, Texas (WGR Sports Radio 550) - The Buffalo Sabres ended 2025 as hot as they could.
Tage Thompson scored two goals, while Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen was sharp with 27 saves in helping lead the Sabres to a dominant 4-1 win over the Dallas Stars on New Year's Eve at the American Airlines Center.
The win for Buffalo also ties a franchise record for the most consecutive wins at 10 games, which has been accomplished three other times in the team's history.
It didn't start so easy, though, as Dallas got on the board just 15 seconds into the game. Mavrik Bourque managed to get a piece of a point shot, and then followed up by putting a rebound past Luukkonen to put the Stars ahead early.
Buffalo didn't back away from the rough start, though, as they combined talent and effort to not only put pressure back on Dallas in the first period, but continue to tilt the ice in their favor as the game carried on.
The Sabres finally ended up breaking through to tie the game in the second period, courtesy of Josh Doan.
Thompson worked below the net with some nifty moves to keep possession and create the chance, as he fed Doan a one-timer for the winger's 11th goal of the season.
Buffalo managed to take the lead later in the second period, as Bowen Byram got into the action with a quick shot off a 2-on-1 rush that beat Stars goalie Casey DeSmith over the far-side blocker.
Byram's ninth goal of the year gave Buffalo a 2-1 lead, which carried over into the third period.
Midway through the third period, Thompson took over on the scoresheet.
The Sabres forward first converted on a rebound to the right of the Stars netminder to make it a 3-1 advantage for Buffalo near the halfway point of the final frame.
Two minutes later, Thompson came storming into the slot and fired a laser past DeSmith for his 20th goal on the season.
Buffalo then managed to kill off the remaining clock in the game, securing the 4-1 victory and a 10th-straight win.
With the victory, Buffalo has gone from last place in the Eastern Conference earlier this month to being in a playoff spot.
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SCORING RECAP
First Period:
BUF: None
DAL: 0:15 - Mavrik Bourque (6) (Miro Heiskanen)
Second Period:
BUF: 7:44 - Josh Doan 11 (Tage Thompson); 17:05 - Bowen Byram (9) (Noah Ostlund, Alex Tuch)
DAL: None
Third Period:
BUF: 9:21 - Tage Thompson (19) (Josh Doan, Bo Byram); 11:35 - Tage Thompson (20) (Noah Ostlund, Owen Power)
DAL: None
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Blue Star Home Services Three Stars of the Game:
1.) Tage Thompson - BUF
2.) Bo Byram - BUF
3.) Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen - BUF
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What's next:
The Sabres will have a chance to set a new franchise record for consecutive wins on Saturday against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Faceoff from Nationwide Arena is set for 3 p.m. with Dan Dunleavy and Rob Ray on the call. Pregame coverage on WGR will start at 2 p.m. with Brian Koziol.