NHL

New York Islanders at Buffalo Sabres

· National Hockey League
Final
4 - 3

Bo Horvat scores as the Islanders top the Sabres 4-3

Adam Pelech leaves game after taking puck to face

The Islanders snapped a three-game losing streak. Kyle Palmieri and Jean-Gabriel Pageau also scored, and Ilya Sorokin made 32 saves.

Dylan Cozens, Jason Zucker and Owen Power scored for the Sabres. Devon Levi stopped 32 shots.

Cozens got his first goal of the season 9:03 into the game, but Horvat answered with a breakaway goal 40 seconds later.

Tsyplakov put the Islanders in front on a terrific move 5:25 into the second, and Palmieri made it 3-1 with a power-play goal at 12:20.

Zucker rallied the Sabres with his third goal 5:27 into the third after missing a penalty shot.

Pageau made it 4-2 8:08 into the third, and Power scored with 1:01 remaining as Buffalo attempted a late comeback.

Takeaways Islanders: After scoring only one goal in the previous eight periods, the struggling Islanders offense finally broke through.

Sabres: The team's inconsistent start continued. The Sabres have lost two in a row following a three-game win streak.

Key moment There was a scary sequence midway through the game when Islanders defenseman Mike Reilly was injured following a big hit by Jordan Greenway. Reilly appeared to hit his head on the ice and was down for several minutes before being helped to the locker room.

Key stat Anders Lee had two assists for the Islanders. He had three goals and no assists in his first 10 games of the season.

Up next The Islanders visit the New York Rangers on Sunday. The Sabres visit Detroit on Saturday night.

Regular Season Series

NYI lead series 1-0

Scoring Summary

Goal 1st Period 9:03 Dylan Cozens Goal (1) Snap Shot, assists: Jason Zucker (6), Rasmus Dahlin (6)
Goal 1st Period 9:43 Bo Horvat Goal (4) Backhand, assists: Anders Lee (1)
Goal 2nd Period 5:25 Maxim Tsyplakov Goal (2) Wrist Shot, assists: none
Goal 2nd Period 12:20 Kyle Palmieri Goal (5) Snap Shot, assists: Maxim Tsyplakov (5), Simon Holmstrom (3)
Goal 3rd Period 5:27 Jason Zucker Goal (3) Tip-In, assists: Tage Thompson (6), Bowen Byram (4)
Goal 3rd Period 8:08 Jean-Gabriel Pageau Goal (2) Poke, assists: Bo Horvat (3), Anders Lee (2)
Goal 3rd Period 18:59 Owen Power Goal (3) Wrist Shot, assists: Ryan McLeod (2), Bowen Byram (5)

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nhl/500/nyi.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originNYI https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nhl/500/buf.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originBUF
23 Blocked Shots 9
18 Hits 18
3 Takeaways 4
36 Shots 35
1 Power Play Goals 1
4 Power Play Opportunities 4
25.0 Power Play Percentage 25.0
0 Short Handed Goals 0
0 Shootout Goals 0
31 Faceoffs Won 26
54.4 Faceoff Win Percent 45.6
12 Giveaways 9
6 Total Penalties 6
15 Penalty Minutes 15
Buffalo Sabres Buffalo Sabres Injuries
NAME, POS STATUS DATE
Noah Ostlund, C Out Mar 27
Jiri Kulich, C Injured Reserve Mar 6
Jordan Greenway, LW Injured Reserve Feb 25
Justin Danforth, RW Injured Reserve Jan 26
New York Islanders New York Islanders Injuries
NAME, POS STATUS DATE
Tony DeAngelo, D Out Mar 26
Alexander Romanov, D Injured Reserve Mar 12
Pierre Engvall, LW Injured Reserve Mar 12
Semyon Varlamov, G Injured Reserve Mar 12
Kyle Palmieri, C Injured Reserve Nov 30

Game Information

KeyBank Center

Location: Buffalo, NY
Attendance: 17,074 | Capacity:

2025-26 Metropolitan Division Standings

TEAM W L PTS OTL
Carolina 45 20 96 6
Pittsburgh 36 20 88 16
Columbus 38 23 87 11
NY Islanders 41 27 87 5
Philadelphia 35 24 82 12
Washington 36 28 81 9
New Jersey 37 32 76 2
NY Rangers 29 35 67 9

2025-26 Atlantic Division Standings

TEAM W L PTS OTL
Buffalo 44 21 96 8
Tampa Bay 44 21 94 6
Montreal 40 21 90 10
Boston 40 24 88 8
Ottawa 38 24 86 10
Detroit 39 25 86 8
Toronto 31 29 75 13
Florida 35 33 73 3
Full Standings