Buffalo Sabres Week in Review (Dec. 27 - Jan. 3)

Breanna McNeill
Jan 5
5 min read

Photo Credit: Buffalo Sabres Multimedia Photo Galleries

The Buffalo Sabres matched their longest winning streak in franchise history with 10 consecutive victories, though they fell just short of setting a new record after a loss to the Blue Jackets. Still, their remarkable run has vaulted them into an unexpected position: they now sit only two points out of the wildcard and, for a few days, actually held the final spot. With every team in the Atlantic Division currently above .500, the timing of this surge couldn’t be more critical as Buffalo enters a pivotal stretch of the season.

Upcoming Schedule:

Jan. 6 vs. Vancouver Canucks
Jan. 8 vs. New York Rangers
Jan. 10 vs. Anaheim Ducks

Below is a detailed look at last week’s four games:

Buffalo Sabres vs. Boston Bruins – Dec. 27th, 2025

Final: 4 (BUF) - 1 (BOS)

Mattias Samuelsson recorded a goal and two assists, leading the Sabres to their eighth straight win with a 4-1 victory over the Bruins.

Peyton Krebs added a goal and an assist, Jack Quinn and Tage Thompson each tallied two assists, and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen stopped 21 shots. Buffalo played without captain Rasmus Dahlin, who remained in Sweden during the holiday break as his fiancée continues recovering from a heart transplant.

David Pastrnak opened the scoring midway through the first, beating Luukkonen with a wrist shot from the left circle.

Ryan McLeod tied the game early in the second after a turnover created by Samuelsson behind the net. Minutes later, Krebs redirected a Thompson shot to give Buffalo a 2-1 lead.

Samuelsson capped his standout night with a wrist shot from the left circle to make it 3-1. Josh Norris sealed the win with an empty-netter in the final seconds.

Three Stars:

#1. Mattias Samuelsson (BUF) – 1G, 2A

#2. Ryan McLeod (BUF) – 1G

#3. Peyton Krebs (BUF) – 1G, 1A

Buffalo Sabres vs. St. Louis Blues – Dec. 29th, 2025

Final: 4 (BUF) - 2 (STL)

Zach Benson scored the go-ahead goal at two minutes into the third period for the Buffalo Sabres, who extended their winning streak to nine games with a 4-2 victory against the St. Louis Blues on Monday night.

Noah Ostlund gave the Sabres a 1-0 lead early into the game, scoring with a one-timer from the right circle off a pass from Josh Norris on a 2-on-1.

Brayden Schenn tied it 1-1 not long after with a short-side shot, and then Jimmy Snuggerud put the Blues in front 2-1, jamming in the puck at the left post.

In the first few minutes of the second period, it appeared that Alex Tuch had tied the game, but the officials determined that Tuch had kicked the puck into the net.

However, Tuch would officially tie the game later in the frame. Skating in on a 3-on-2 rush, he took a cross-ice pass from Samuelsson and scored with a wrist shot from the top of the right circle.

At the start of the third, Blues forward Dalibor Dvorsky broke up Ryan McLeod's centring pass for Jack Quinn, but the puck popped over to the right post, where Benson batted it into the open net to make it 3-2.

After Benson put the Sabres in front, Peyton Krebs scored into an empty net at 18:44 for the 4-2 final. Buffalo dominated the final two periods, outshooting St. Louis 26-9.

Snuggerud, though, had a chance to tie the game just before Krebs' goal. After Lyon misplayed the puck behind the net, Jake Neighbours sent a backhand pass into the slot to Snuggerud, who whiffed on a one-timer at what would have been an open net. It later turned out that Lyon tweaked something after trying to get back and make the save.

Three Stars:

#1. Zach Benson (BUF) – 1G

#2. Joel Hofer (STL) – .909 SV%

#3. Alex Tuch (BUF) – 1G

Buffalo Sabres vs. Dallas Stars – Dec. 31st, 2025

Final: 4 (BUF) - 1 (DAL)

Tage Thompson scored twice and added an assist as the Sabres tied a franchise record with their 10th straight win, rallying from an early deficit to beat Dallas 4-1 on New Year’s Eve.

Things didn’t look too good for the Sabres to start the game as Mavrik Bourque gave the Stars a 1-0 lead just 15 seconds into the first period, chipping in a rebound in the slot. Buffalo would head into the first intermission down 1-0.

Josh Doan tied it 1-1 seven minutes into the second period with a one-timer from the right circle off a pass from Thompson. Bowen Byram gave Buffalo a 2-1 lead not long after. He skated in on a partial 2-on-1 with Josh Norris and roofed a shot blocker side.

Thompson extended the lead to 3-1 in the third period, burying a rebound from the edge of the crease. He then made it 4-1 minutes later when he beat Casey DeSmith glove side from the high slot on a rush.

Luukkonen made 28 saves for his third win of the streak, while Casey DeSmith stopped 27 shots for Dallas.

Three Stars:

#1. Tage Thompson (BUF) – 2G, 1A

#2. Bowen Byram (BUF) – 1G, 1A

#3. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (BUF) – .966 SV%

Buffalo Sabres vs. Columbus Blue Jackets – Jan. 3rd, 2026

Final: 5 (CBJ) - 1 (BUF)

The Buffalo Sabres had their 10-game win streak snapped at the hands of the Columbus Blue Jackets with a 5-1 loss on Saturday afternoon.

Denton Mateychuk opened the high-period scoring early for the Blue Jackets after capitalizing on a poor Buffalo line change.

Josh Doan tied it at one later in the frame. He was at the right post for a tap-in off a pass from Josh Norris after Owen Power intercepted a clearing pass.

Columbus regained control with a shorthanded breakaway goal from Brendan Gaunce, followed by Dmitri Voronkov’s deflection that barely crossed the line. Mathieu Olivier extended the lead to 4-1 in the second.

With nine minutes left in regulation, head coach Lindy Ruff opted to pull the goaltender, giving the Sabres a 5-on-4 advantage with each team serving a penalty.

Cole Sillinger scored into the empty net not long after Buffalo made the pull to seal the 5-1 final and hand the Sabres their first loss since December 8th in Calgary.

Three Stars:

#1. Jet Greaves (CBJ) – .970 SV%

#2. Denton Mateychuk (CBJ) – 1G, 1A

#3. Brendan Gaunce (CBJ) – 1G