Buffalo Sabres Weekend in Review (Oct. 9 – Oct. 13, 2025)

Breanna McNeill
Oct 13
4 min read

Photo Credit: Buffalo Sabres Multimedia Photo Galleries

The Buffalo Sabres have stumbled out of the gate, starting their season 0–3 after three disappointing outings. Missing key players like Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Josh Norris, Jordan Greenway, Zach Benson, Mattias Samuelsson, and Michael Kesselring, the team has struggled to find chemistry and consistency. Injuries aside, the performance on the ice has been underwhelming – the Sabres went 0-for-11 on the power play, were outscored 10–2, and failed to win more than half of their faceoffs in each game. One bright spot: their penalty kill remains perfect, going 11-for-11.

Newly acquired goaltender Alex Lyon has started all three games and looked comfortable between the pipes, making key saves to keep the team in contention. However, the Sabres’ energy and execution have faded after the opening frame in each outing, allowing opponents to dictate the pace. Frustration among fans is already growing, with players and management feeling the heat early. Looking ahead, Buffalo’s schedule doesn’t get any easier, as the Ottawa Senators (1–2–0) and Florida Panthers (3–0–0) visit KeyBank Center this week.

Here is a more detailed breakdown of each game:

Buffalo Sabres vs. New York Rangers – Oct. 9th, 2025

Final: 4 (NYR) – 0 (BUF)

The Buffalo Sabres opened their season at KeyBank Center for the fourth straight year, playing in front of a sold-out crowd, but couldn’t find a way to solve the Rangers, falling 4–0 in their third consecutive season-opening loss.

With Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen sidelined week-to-week, Alex Lyon got the start in goal, making his Sabres debut — and he had to be sharp early. The Rangers controlled play from the opening faceoff, outshooting Buffalo 11–2 through the first 10 minutes. The Sabres didn’t register their first shot until seven minutes into the game, but Lyon looked composed, challenging everything that came his way.

The pressure eventually broke Buffalo down. New York sustained offensive zone time before Alexis Lafrenière buried a rebound to make it 1–0 late in the first period.

The game stayed close until the third, when things unravelled for the Sabres, and the Rangers scored three. Carson Soucy sniped one short side from the faceoff circle, J.T. Miller redirected a point shot through traffic, and Adam Fox sealed the win with an empty-netter. The final horn was met with a chorus of boos from the few fans who remained.

Despite outshooting New York 37–33, Buffalo struggled in key areas, winning only 35% of their faceoffs and going 0-for-4 on the power play. While it’s worth noting that the Rangers had already played a regular-season game and the Sabres hadn’t, the lack of chemistry among Buffalo’s skaters – most of whom were part of last year’s lineup – was evident. And to make matters worse, Josh Norris appeared to tweak his back in the third period and is now expected to be out for at least eight weeks.

Three Stars:

#1. Igor Shesterkin (NYR) – SO

#2. Alexis Lafreniere (NYR) – 1G, 1A

#3. Carson Soucy (NYR) – 1G

Buffalo Sabres vs. Boston Bruins – Oct. 11th, 2025

Final: 3 (BOS) – 1 (BUF)

The Sabres hit the road for their first away game of the season and came up short again, falling 3–1 to the Bruins.

Pavel Zacha opened the scoring late in the first, and by the end of the period, the Sabres were down 1–0 and being outshot 17–2. Midway through the second, Mark Kastelic doubled Boston’s lead after a failed clearing attempt deflected off Conor Timmins and past Lyon.

Buffalo finally ended its scoring drought in the third when Jason Zucker (1) redirected a shot into the net, but that was the extent of their offence. Sean Kuraly sealed Boston’s win with an empty-netter in the dying seconds.

Lyon made 28 saves in the loss.

“We need to raise our level of compete,” said head coach Lindy Ruff. “I thought our compete was terrible – the worst compete and skating I’ve seen. We’ve got to compete.”

Three Stars:

#1. Jeremy Swayman (BOS) – 1.00 GAA, .955 SV%

#2. Pavel Zacha (BOS) – 1G

#3. Mark Kastelic (BOS) – 1G, 1A

Buffalo Sabres vs. Colorado Avalanche – Oct. 13th, 2025

Final: 3 (COL) – 1 (BUF)

Returning home for an afternoon matchup on Canadian Thanksgiving, the Sabres dropped their third straight game by the same 3–1 score, this time to the Colorado Avalanche.

Unlike the first two games, Buffalo started strong, firing five of the game’s first six shots, but still, Nathan MacKinnon managed to open the scoring with a backhand shot from the slot. Tage Thompson (1) tied it with a blast from the blueline late in the first, but the Avalanche reclaimed momentum in the second when Cale Makar scored off a setup from Valeri Nichushkin following a Rasmus Dahlin turnover.

MacKinnon added his second of the night during a 4-on-4 sequence in the third. Colorado appeared to make it 4–1 later in the period, but a successful coach’s challenge ruled the play offside. Unfortunately, this did not spark any momentum for the Sabres, and the game ended with another two-goal deficit.

Lyon, making his third straight start, stopped 34 shots in the loss.

“We have a long season to go,” Tage Thompson said postgame. “You guys are acting like the world is ending right now. We just have to find a way to claw ourselves out of this. We’re in a hole we don’t want to be in, and we have to fight our way out.”