NHL

Buffalo Sabres at New York Islanders

· National Hockey League
<span id="gameStatus" class="badge bg-danger" style="font-size: 1.2em; margin: 5px 0;">Final</span>
5 - 0

Alex Lyon makes 26 saves, ties Buffalo record with 9th straight win as Sabres blank Islanders 5-0

Alex Tuch lights the lamp for Sabres

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.

Up next Sabres: At Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday.

Islanders: At Philadelphia Flyers on Monday.

Regular Season Series

BUF leads series 2-0

Scoring Summary

Goal 2nd Period 0:33 Jason Zucker Goal (12) Snap Shot, assists: Jack Quinn (19), Ryan McLeod (22)
Goal 2nd Period 19:47 Tage Thompson Goal (27) Snap Shot, assists: Zach Benson (18), Mattias Samuelsson (19)
Goal 3rd Period 0:25 Jason Zucker Goal (13) Snap Shot, assists: Ryan McLeod (23)
Goal 3rd Period 14:02 Rasmus Dahlin Goal (8) Wrist Shot, assists: Peyton Krebs (15)
Goal 3rd Period 14:38 Alex Tuch Goal (18) Deflected, assists: Mattias Samuelsson (20), Michael Kesselring (1)

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nhl/500/buf.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originBUF https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nhl/500/nyi.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originNYI
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 New York Islanders Injuries
NAME, POS STATUS DATE
Mathew Barzal, C Out May 12
Semyon Varlamov, G Injured Reserve Apr 19
Kyle Palmieri, C Injured Reserve Apr 15
Maxim Shabanov, RW Out Apr 14
Ryan Pulock, D Out Apr 14
Buffalo Sabres Buffalo Sabres Injuries
NAME, POS STATUS DATE
Noah Ostlund, C Out May 3
Jiri Kulich, C Injured Reserve Mar 6
Justin Danforth, RW Injured Reserve Jan 26

Game Information

UBS Arena

Location: Elmont, NY
Attendance: 17,255 | Capacity:

2025-26 Atlantic Division Standings

TEAM W L PTS OTL
<img src="https://a.espncdn.com/i/teamlogos/nhl/500/buf.png" style="padding: 0 4px; width: 25px; vertical-align: inherit;">Buffalo 50 23 109 9
<img src="https://a.espncdn.com/i/teamlogos/nhl/500/tb.png" style="padding: 0 4px; width: 25px; vertical-align: inherit;">Tampa Bay 50 26 106 6
<img src="https://a.espncdn.com/i/teamlogos/nhl/500/mtl.png" style="padding: 0 4px; width: 25px; vertical-align: inherit;">Montreal 48 24 106 10
<img src="https://a.espncdn.com/i/teamlogos/nhl/500/bos.png" style="padding: 0 4px; width: 25px; vertical-align: inherit;">Boston 45 27 100 10
<img src="https://a.espncdn.com/i/teamlogos/nhl/500/ott.png" style="padding: 0 4px; width: 25px; vertical-align: inherit;">Ottawa 44 27 99 11
<img src="https://a.espncdn.com/i/teamlogos/nhl/500/det.png" style="padding: 0 4px; width: 25px; vertical-align: inherit;">Detroit 41 31 92 10
<img src="https://a.espncdn.com/i/teamlogos/nhl/500/fla.png" style="padding: 0 4px; width: 25px; vertical-align: inherit;">Florida 40 38 84 4
<img src="https://a.espncdn.com/i/teamlogos/nhl/500/tor.png" style="padding: 0 4px; width: 25px; vertical-align: inherit;">Toronto 32 36 78 14

2025-26 Metropolitan Division Standings

TEAM W L PTS OTL
<img src="https://a.espncdn.com/i/teamlogos/nhl/500/car.png" style="padding: 0 4px; width: 25px; vertical-align: inherit;">Carolina 53 22 113 7
<img src="https://a.espncdn.com/i/teamlogos/nhl/500/pit.png" style="padding: 0 4px; width: 25px; vertical-align: inherit;">Pittsburgh 41 25 98 16
<img src="https://a.espncdn.com/i/teamlogos/nhl/500/phi.png" style="padding: 0 4px; width: 25px; vertical-align: inherit;">Philadelphia 43 27 98 12
<img src="https://a.espncdn.com/i/teamlogos/nhl/500/wsh.png" style="padding: 0 4px; width: 25px; vertical-align: inherit;">Washington 43 30 95 9
<img src="https://a.espncdn.com/i/teamlogos/nhl/500/cbj.png" style="padding: 0 4px; width: 25px; vertical-align: inherit;">Columbus 40 30 92 12
<img src="https://a.espncdn.com/i/teamlogos/nhl/500/nyi.png" style="padding: 0 4px; width: 25px; vertical-align: inherit;">NY Islanders 43 34 91 5
<img src="https://a.espncdn.com/i/teamlogos/nhl/500/nj.png" style="padding: 0 4px; width: 25px; vertical-align: inherit;">New Jersey 42 37 87 3
<img src="https://a.espncdn.com/i/teamlogos/nhl/500/nyr.png" style="padding: 0 4px; width: 25px; vertical-align: inherit;">NY Rangers 34 39 77 9
Full Standings