Buffalo Sabres at New York Islanders
· National Hockey LeagueAlex Lyon makes 26 saves, ties Buffalo record with 9th straight win as Sabres blank Islanders 5-0
Tage Thompson, Rasmus Dahlin and Alex Tuch also scored as the Sabres won their third straight and for the fifth time in seven games. Ryan McLeod and Mattias Samuelsson each had two assists.
Lyon, who signed with the Sabres in July after two seasons with Detroit, recorded the sixth shutout of his career and tied the Buffalo record of Gerry Desjardins (1976-77) with nine consecutive wins.
Buffalo improved to 18-3-1 in its last 22 games.
David Rittich made 16 saves for the Islanders, who were playing their first home game after a seven-game trip in which they went 3-3-1.
Rittich, who last started on Jan. 17 against Calgary, entered the game with a 4-2-2 record 2.46 goals-against average versus Buffalo. He slipped to 11-7-3 this season.
Zucker opened the scoring 33 seconds into the second period, scoring on a wrist shot, offa rebound of a shot by Jack Quinn. Thompson extended the lead to two goals, scoring past a sliding Rittich at 19:47 of the second.
Zucker's second goal of the game, 25 seconds into the third, stretched the lead to 3-0. Dahlin scored into an empty net at 14:02 of the period and Tuch completed the scoring approximately 30 seconds later by tipping a shot from Samuelsson by Rittich.
Bo Horvat was back on the ice with the Islanders after being sidelined for nine games due to a lower-body injury.
Islanders: At Philadelphia Flyers on Monday.
Regular Season SeriesBUF leads series 2-0
Scoring Summary
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Goal | 2nd Period 0:33 | Jason Zucker Goal (12) Snap Shot, assists: Jack Quinn (19), Ryan McLeod (22) |
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Goal | 2nd Period 19:47 | Tage Thompson Goal (27) Snap Shot, assists: Zach Benson (18), Mattias Samuelsson (19) |
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Goal | 3rd Period 0:25 | Jason Zucker Goal (13) Snap Shot, assists: Ryan McLeod (23) |
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Goal | 3rd Period 14:02 | Rasmus Dahlin Goal (8) Wrist Shot, assists: Peyton Krebs (15) |
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Goal | 3rd Period 14:38 | Alex Tuch Goal (18) Deflected, assists: Mattias Samuelsson (20), Michael Kesselring (1) |
Statistics
BUF |
NYI |
|
|---|---|---|
| 11 | Blocked Shots | 13 |
| 16 | Hits | 24 |
| 7 | Takeaways | 5 |
| 21 | Shots | 26 |
| 0 | Power Play Goals | 0 |
| 2 | Power Play Opportunities | 3 |
| 0.0 | Power Play Percentage | 0.0 |
| 0 | Short Handed Goals | 0 |
| 0 | Shootout Goals | 0 |
| 13 | Faceoffs Won | 37 |
| 26.0 | Faceoff Win Percent | 74.0 |
| 14 | Giveaways | 16 |
| 4 | Total Penalties | 3 |
| 8 | Penalty Minutes | 6 |
New York Islanders Injuries
| NAME, POS | STATUS | DATE |
|---|---|---|
| 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 |
Buffalo Sabres Injuries
| NAME, POS | STATUS | DATE |
|---|---|---|
| Alex Tuch, RW | Day-To-Day | Mar 12 |
| Tyson Kozak, C | Day-To-Day | Mar 12 |
| Jiri Kulich, C | Injured Reserve | Mar 6 |
| Jordan Greenway, LW | Injured Reserve | Feb 25 |
| Justin Danforth, RW | Injured Reserve | Jan 26 |
Game Information
UBS Arena
Location: Elmont, NY
Attendance: 17,255 | Capacity:
Location: Elmont, NY
Attendance: 17,255 | Capacity:
2025-26 Atlantic Division Standings
| TEAM | W | L | PTS | OTL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Buffalo |
40 | 19 | 86 | 6 |
Tampa Bay |
39 | 20 | 82 | 4 |
Montreal |
36 | 18 | 82 | 10 |
Detroit |
36 | 22 | 79 | 7 |
Boston |
36 | 22 | 78 | 6 |
Ottawa |
32 | 23 | 73 | 9 |
Florida |
32 | 29 | 67 | 3 |
Toronto |
27 | 27 | 65 | 11 |
2025-26 Metropolitan Division Standings
| TEAM | W | L | PTS | OTL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Carolina |
41 | 17 | 88 | 6 |
Pittsburgh |
32 | 17 | 79 | 15 |
NY Islanders |
37 | 23 | 79 | 5 |
Columbus |
33 | 21 | 76 | 10 |
Philadelphia |
30 | 23 | 71 | 11 |
Washington |
32 | 27 | 71 | 7 |
New Jersey |
32 | 30 | 66 | 2 |
NY Rangers |
26 | 30 | 60 | 8 |



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