Buffalo Sabres Week in Review (Feb. 25 - Feb. 28)

Photo Credit: Tampa Bay Lightning Multimedia Photo Galleries

The Buffalo Sabres returned from the Olympic Break with a bang, going 3-0, including road wins over the New Jersey Devils, Florida Panthers and the division-leading Tampa Bay Lightning. They currently sit in second place in the Atlantic, just four points back of the Lightning, whom they handed a 6-2 loss to close out the week. With just 22 games remaining in the regular season, the Sabres control their own destiny and are on their way to ending their 14-game postseason drought. 

The week was also a strong one between the pipes. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen returned from injury and looked sharp, while Alex Lyon made history, becoming just the ninth goalie in NHL history to record a road winning streak of at least nine games. With the team getting healthier at the right time of year, the goaltending depth that has carried Buffalo all season looks as reliable as ever.

Notably, the NHL's trade deadline is this Friday, March 6th at 3:00 p.m. EST.

Upcoming Schedule:

• Mar. 3 – Vegas Golden Knights

• Mar. 5 – Pittsburgh Penguins

• Mar. 7 – Nashville Predators

• Mar. 8 – Tampa Bay Lightning

Below is a detailed look at the last three games:

Buffalo Sabres vs. New Jersey Devils – Feb. 25, 2026

Final: 2 (BUF) - 1 (NJD)

The Buffalo Sabres returned from the break with a 2-1 victory against the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center on Wednesday.

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 27 saves for the Sabres in his first start since returning from an injury that he sustained in late January, which sidelined him from competing for Team Finland at the Olympic Games.

After a scoreless first period, Tage Thompson, who returned with some hardware after winning gold with Team USA, gave Buffalo a 1-0 lead at 8:10 when he scored on a snap shot from the slot after a pass from linemate Peyton Krebs. 

Krebs then pushed it to 2-0 himself when he scored on a wrist shot from the left hash marks at 10:36 of the third period. The play started after Thompson stole the puck from former Team USA teammate Jack Hughes and skated down the slot before passing to Krebs, who scored from the left circle.

Timo Meier spoiled Luukkonen's shutout bid with just under four minutes left in regulation after he scored on a rebound with goaltender Jake Allen pulled for the extra attacker. Despite the Devils relentlessly pushing for the equalizer, Buffalo held firm for the two points.

Three Stars:

#1. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (BUF) – .964 SV%

#2. Tage Thompson (BUF) – 1G, 1A

#3. Jake Allen (NJD) – .933 SV%

Buffalo Sabres vs. Florida Panthers – Feb. 27, 2026

Final: 3 (BUF) - 2 (FLA)

The Buffalo Sabres extended their road point streak to eight games by defeating the Florida Panthers 3-2 at Amerant Bank Arena on Friday. With the victory, the Sabres leapfrogged the Detroit Red Wings and Montreal Canadiens into second place in the Atlantic Division, tied in points with the Red Wings – the last time the team ranked within the top two of its division this late into a season was at the end of the 2009-10 season.

Alex Lyon made 28 saves in the victory and became the ninth goalie in NHL history with a road winning streak of at least nine games.

Alex Tuch gave the Sabres a 1-0 lead on the power play late in the first period, sending a high wrist shot from the top of the slot over Daniil Tarasov's stick.

Matthew Tkachuk, however, would tie the game at one later in the middle frame on a power play of their own.

Tied at one for the rest of the second period and well into the third, Beck Malenstyn would put Buffalo ahead 2-1, scoring with a slap shot through traffic from the point. While Florida would challenge the call of goaltender interference on the play, the league ruled it a good goal.

Peyton Krebs scored into the empty net at 18:43 to make it 3-1, which ended up standing as the game-winner, as just under a minute later, Sam Bennett's shot hit the post, and Rasmus Dahlin inadvertently swept the rebound into his own net to cut it to a one-goal lead. But with only a handful of second left, the Sabres once again held on for another two points.

Three Stars:

#1. Beck Malenstyn (BUF) – 1G

#2. Alex Lyon (BUF) – .966 SV%

#3. Matthew Tkachuk (FLA) – 1G

Buffalo Sabres vs. Tampa Bay Lightning – Feb. 28, 2026

Final: 6 (BUF) - 2 (TBL)

The Buffalo Sabres, on the tail end of their back-to-back, laid one on the division-leading Tampa Bay Lightning at Benchmark International Arena on Saturday, scoring four goals in the first period enroute to a 6-2 victory.

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 36 saves for the team's third win in a row. Former Vezina Trophy winner Andrei Vasilevskiy gave up five goals on 14 shots before he was pulled at 1:54 of the second period in favour of Jonas Johansson, who made 20 saves in relief.

Rasmus Dahlin gave Buffalo a 1-0 lead just five minutes into the first period when he took control of the puck and skated to the middle of the ice, where he notched a wrist shot farside.

Just 50 seconds later, Josh Norris pushed it 2-0 at 6:15 when he took a pass from Josh Doan at the right circle and faked a cross-ice pass before beating Vasilevskiy with a wrist shot to the far post.

The Sabres extended the lead to 3-0 at 8:18 with Norris' second goal, a redirection from in front of the net off a slap shot from Bowen Byram.

Tage Thompson made it 4-0 at 15:06 when he took a backhand pass from Peyton Krebs and scored on the forehand from close range.

Defenseman Zachary Metsa – playing in his first NHL game since being recalled from Rochester on Feb. 22 – pushed the Buffalo lead to 5-0 at 1:54 of the second period after he intercepted a clearing attempt by Lightning forward Anthony Cirelli and scored on a wrist shot from above the hashmarks.

Dominic James spoiled another potential UPL shutout after he put the Lightning on the board 5-1 late in the frame.

Oliver Bjorkstrand thought he had cut the deficit to three early in the third, but the goal was overturned. Alex Tuch then made it 6-1 not long after with a power-play goal.

Victor Hedman would get Tampa back on the board with his first goal of the season, but that was as close as they would come to solving the Sabres.

Three Stars:

#1. Rasmus Dahlin (BUF) – 1G, 2A

#2. Josh Norris (BUF) – 2G

#3. Zach Metsa (BUF) – 1G, 1A 

Notable Injuries:

• Conor Timmins (D): Day-to-day (Leg)

• Justin Danforth (F): Day-to-day (Lower Body)

• Jordan Greenway (F): Day-to-day (Abdomen)

• Jiri Kulich (F): LTIR (Ear)

Notable Transactions:

• Anton Wahlberg (F): Sent back to Rochester (AHL) – Feb. 28

• Zachary Metsa (D): Recalled from Rochester (AHL) – Feb. 22