Elmont, N.Y. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - The good vibes keep flowing for the 2025-26 Buffalo Sabres.
It was all Buffalo on Saturday at UBS Arena, as the Sabres won their 18th game in a stretch of 22, 5-0, over the New York Islanders.
After a scoreless first period, Jason Zucker got the scoring started a mere 33 seconds into the middle stanza.
Jack Quinn's slot shot generated a juicy rebound off to the left of Islanders goalie David Rittich. Fortunately for the Sabres, Zucker was parked there on the goal line and deposited for the game's first goal.
Buffalo started the second period with a statement, and ended it with one too.
With a mere 13 seconds separating the teams from second intermission, Zach Benson fooled Rittich by sending a puck back out in front to Tage Thompson, rather than skate it behind the net like Rittich thought he was going to.
The goal was Thompson's 27th of the season.
There was only 38 seconds of game time between Thompson's late-period goal and Zucker's second goal of the afternoon.
The veteran winger made it a 3-0 lead just 25 seconds into the third period of play, his second such score of the game inside a period's opening minute of action.
The game really got away from the Islanders in the waning moments.
Head coach Patrick Roy pulled Rittich with over six minutes left in the game, and Sabres captain Rasmus Dahlin made the best of the vacated net. His empty-net goal made it a 4-0 contest with 5:58 to play.
The Sabres weren't done there, though, as their lead ballooned to 5-0 just 36 seconds later when Alex Tuch tipped home a Mattias Samuelsson shot with Rittich back in his net.
Defenseman Michael Kesselring was credited with the secondary assist on Tuch's goal, giving him his first point as a member of the Sabres since his offseason arrival from the Utah Mammoth.
Not to be forgotten amidst all the offense was the stellar play from goalie Alex Lyon, who put on a show between the pipes with his second shutout of the season, and the sixth of his career.
Furthermore, the win was Lyon's ninth-in-a-row, as his renaissance season kept on rolling along with Buffalo.
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SCORING RECAP
First Period:
BUF: NONE
NYI: NONE
Second Period:
BUF: 0:33 - Jason Zucker (12) (Jack Quinn, Ryan McLeod); 19:47 - Tage Thompson (27) (Zach Benson, Mattias Samuelsson)
NYI: NONE
Third Period:
BUF: 0:25 - Jason Zucker (13) (Ryan McLeod); 14:02 - Rasmus Dahlin (8) ENG (Peyton Krebs); 14:38 - Alex Tuch (18) (Mattias Samuelsson, Michael Kesselring)
NYI: NONE
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BlueStar Home Services Three Stars of the Game:
1.) Alex Lyon - BUF
2.) Jason Zucker - BUF
3.) Tage Thompson - BUF
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What's next:
Buffalo's road trip wraps up against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday night at Scotiabank Arena. Faceoff is set for 7 p.m. with Dan Dunleavy and Rob Ray on the call.