Buffalo Sabres Week in Review (Nov. 2 – Nov. 9) + Dahlin Update

Breanna McNeill
Nov 9
6 min read

Photo Credit: Buffalo Sabres Multimedia Photo Galleries

After edging out the Washington Capitals in a shootout last Saturday, the Buffalo Sabres managed just one point this week, falling 2–1 in overtime to the Utah Mammoth on Tuesday night. The struggles continued as they dropped their next two contests against the St. Louis Blues and Carolina Hurricanes.

The Sabres have yet to secure a win on the road and now sit at the bottom of the Atlantic Division—a sharp decline from where they stood just a week ago. With only four regulation wins this season, Buffalo finds itself in a familiar position, unable to build any sort of winning streak while consistently stringing together losses instead.

One bright spot remains the team’s penalty kill, which continues to lead the league alongside the Tampa Bay Lightning with an impressive 89.6% success rate.

In off-ice news, captain Rasmus Dahlin has taken a leave of absence to attend to personal matters (which I’ll touch on later in the article). In response, the Sabres recalled defenseman Zac Jones from the Rochester Americans to help fill the gap on the blue line.

The week also featured another milestone moment, as Noah Ostlund scored his first NHL goal.

Notable Player Performances:

Noah Ostlund – 3GP, 1G, 1A
- Scored his first career NHL goal (Nov. 4 vs. UTA)
Tage Thompson – 3GP, 1G, 1A
Alex Tuch – 3GP, 1G, 1A

The Sabres will play three games again this week: Wednesday against the Utah Mammoth (9–6–0), Thursday against the Colorado Avalanche (9–1–5) and then Saturday against the Detroit Red Wings (9–7–0). Buffalo will look to snap their road losing streak and snatch up some much-needed points.

Here is a more detailed breakdown of the three games:

Buffalo Sabres vs. Utah Mammoth – Nov. 4th, 2025

Final/OT: 2 (UTA) – 1 (BUF)

The Buffalo Sabres extended their point streak to seven games but once again fell short in overtime, dropping a 2–1 decision to the Utah Mammoth on Tuesday night at KeyBank Center.

After two scoreless periods, Nick Schmaltz opened the scoring early in the third, converting a cross-ice feed from Clayton Keller and beating goaltender Alex Lyon short side to make it 1–0.

The Sabres answered just minutes later when Noah Östlund buried his first career NHL goal. After his initial shot missed wide, Isak Rosén retrieved the puck behind the net and fed it back in front, where Östlund lifted it over Karel Vejmelka’s blocker to tie the game.

Despite a strong first period in which they recorded nine of their 18 shots, Buffalo struggled to generate sustained offence down the stretch. Utah controlled the pace through the final two periods, outshooting the Sabres 28–9 the rest of the way.

Keller played the hero for the Mammoth, scoring just 47 seconds into overtime to seal the win. He carried the puck to the front of the net and slipped a shot five-hole past Lyon.

Vejmelka earned an assist on the winning play after gloving an Alex Tuch chance in close and quickly sending the puck up ice to Mikhail Sergachev, who set up Keller’s rush.

Vejmelka finished with 17 saves, while Lyon turned aside 33 shots in the loss.

Three Stars:

#1. Alex Lyon (BUF) – .943 SV%

#2. Noah Östlund (BUF) – 1G

#3. Clayton Keller (UTA) – 1G, 1A

Buffalo Sabres vs. St. Louis Blues – Nov. 6th, 2025

Final: 3 (STL) – 0 (BUF)

The Buffalo Sabres saw their seven-game point streak come to an end Thursday night, falling 3–0 to the St. Louis Blues on home ice.

Joel Hofer stopped all 28 shots he faced to earn his third career shutout and backstop St. Louis to the win. It was a strong bounce-back outing for the 25-year-old, who started after coming in relief the night before in the Blues’ 6–1 loss to Washington.

Mathieu Joseph opened the scoring midway through the first period with a shorthanded goal. The forward forced a turnover from Jack Quinn at the blue line, raced in on a breakaway, and beat Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen glove side to make it 1–0.

Nick Bjugstad extended the lead early in the second, taking a stretch pass from Justin Faulk and snapping a shot from the top of the left circle past Luukkonen. Faulk later added an empty-netter to seal the win in the dying minutes of the third.

Buffalo couldn’t find its rhythm offensively despite generating 28 shots and went 0-for-3 on the power play. Luukkonen made 14 saves in the loss as the Sabres were shut out at home for the second time this season.

Three Stars:

#1. Joel Hofer (STL) – 1 SO

#2. Mathieu Joseph (STL) – 1G, 2A

#3. Nick Bjugstad (STL) – 1G

Buffalo Sabres vs. Carolina Hurricanes – Nov. 8th, 2025

Final: 6 (CAR) – 3 (BUF)

The Buffalo Sabres’ struggles continued on Saturday night, falling 6–3 to the Carolina Hurricanes.

Carolina opened the scoring early in the first period when Andrei Svechnikov carried the puck through the neutral zone and fed Sebastian Aho for a one-timer off the rush. Buffalo responded just over three minutes later, capitalizing on a Hurricanes turnover as Noah Östlund found Owen Power, who snapped a shot from the left circle to tie it 1–1.

Svechnikov restored the lead early in the second period with a power-play blast under the crossbar off a feed from K’Andre Miller. The Hurricanes extended their advantage not long later when Jesperi Kotkaniemi scored a low one-timer, making it 3–1.

Early in the third, Eric Robinson slipped behind the Sabres’ defence and beat Lyon glove side just 29 seconds in to stretch the lead to 4–1. But something clicked for Buffalo in the third, and they turned on the jets. Just a few minutes later, Alex Tuch cut the deficit to two with a quick shot off the rush, and Thompson followed up with a goal from the slot not long after to make it 4–3.

However, their comeback hopes would end there as Carolina would seal the win with a pair of empty-netters. Seth Jarvis scored with just over two minutes left, and Charles Alexis Legault added his first NHL goal 36 seconds later to round out the 6–3 final.

Pyotr Kochetkov turned aside 19 shots for the Hurricanes, while Alex Lyon made 29 saves in the loss, as the Sabres dropped their third straight game.

Three Stars:

#1. Andrei Svechnikov (CAR) – 1G, 1A

#2. Charles Alexis Legault (CAR) – 1G, 1A

#3. Jesperi Kotkaniemi (CAR) – 1G, 1A

Rasmus Dahlin Update:

Captain Rasmus Dahlin is taking a leave of absence and has returned to Sweden to attend to a personal matter. There is currently no timetable for his return to the team.

According to head coach Lindy Ruff, Dahlin is returning home to be with his fiancée, Carolina, who underwent a lifesaving heart transplant over the summer. In September, he shared that during a vacation in France, Carolina began feeling unwell before her heart ultimately failed. Dahlin said she required CPR “multiple times, for up to a couple of hours at a time,” and spent several weeks on life support before receiving a new heart. At the time, Dahlin shared that she was “on the path to a full recovery” and continuing rehabilitation in Sweden before being cleared to travel to Buffalo.

While Ruff disclosed that everything is OK, he said that it has been challenging for him to maintain focus amid his fiancée’s recovery.

“I think it’s been incredibly hard. Not easy,” Ruff said. “I fully understand what this young man is going through. I don’t think you can describe it, and I don’t think you can feel what he’s feeling.

“I’m pretty passionate about the fact that no one would want to walk in his shoes and have to deal with what he dealt with. He undoubtedly got the support of everybody on this. This is larger than hockey.”