NHL

New York Islanders at Buffalo Sabres

· National Hockey League
Final
3 - 4

Byram's empty-netter stands as winner to lift Sabres past Islanders 4-3

New York Islanders vs. Buffalo Sabres: Game Highlights

The Sabres became the NHL’s 11th franchise to reach 2,000 wins — and the first team not added in the league’s first expansion in 1967 when the NHL went from six teams to 12. Buffalo joined in the second wave of expansion joining the NHL with Vancouver in 1970.

Jack Quinn and Tage Thompson had a goal and an assist, and Peyton Krebs also scored for the Sabres, who reached 100 points for the 10th time in franchise history and first since finishing with 100 in 2009-10. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 25 saves for the Sabres.

Brayden Schenn, Calum Ritchie and Anders Lee scored, and Bo Horvat added three assists for the Islanders. Ilya Sorokin made 29 saves.

Some three minutes after Lee tied the game at 2, Krebs scored with 3:01 left.

Alex Tuch set it up by circling the Islanders net and feeding Krebs in front for a one-timer.

And Bowen Byram sealed it by flipping a long shot into an empty net with 1:43 remaining.

Schenn scored with 1 second left, bringing the Islanders within 1.

Right off the faceoff to start the third period, Sam Carrick fought. While Carrick threw punches with his right hand, his left arm was tied up in Lee's jersey at an awkward angle. As Carrick spun and was taken down to the ice, he landed hard. He remained down in obvious pain before leaving for the locker room.

Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff confirmed after the game Carrick injured his left arm in the fight.

Up next Islanders: Host Philadelphia on Friday.

Sabres: Visit Ottawa on Thursday.

Regular Season Series

BUF wins series 3-0

Scoring Summary

Goal 1st Period 14:19 Jack Quinn Goal (18) Wrist Shot, assists: Josh Norris (16)
Goal 2nd Period 17:57 Calum Ritchie Goal (12) Wrist Shot, assists: Brayden Schenn (21), Bo Horvat (23)
Goal 3rd Period 2:40 Tage Thompson Goal (38) Wrist Shot, assists: Josh Norris (17), Jack Quinn (31)
Goal 3rd Period 13:39 Anders Lee Goal (18) Wrist Shot, assists: Bo Horvat (24), Matthew Schaefer (35)
Goal 3rd Period 16:59 Peyton Krebs Goal (11) Snap Shot, assists: Alex Tuch (31), Tage Thompson (40)
Goal 3rd Period 18:17 Bowen Byram Goal (11) Wrist Shot, assists: Mattias Samuelsson (28)
Goal 3rd Period 19:59 Brayden Schenn Goal (17) Wrist Shot, assists: Mathew Barzal (49), Bo Horvat (25)

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
10 Blocked Shots 15
26 Hits 25
6 Takeaways 1
28 Shots 33
1 Power Play Goals 2
3 Power Play Opportunities 4
33.3 Power Play Percentage 50.0
0 Short Handed Goals 0
0 Shootout Goals 0
32 Faceoffs Won 27
54.2 Faceoff Win Percent 45.8
12 Giveaways 19
6 Total Penalties 5
15 Penalty Minutes 13
Buffalo Sabres Buffalo Sabres Injuries
NAME, POS STATUS DATE
Noah Ostlund, C Day-To-Day Apr 3
Sam Carrick, C Out Apr 2
Jiri Kulich, C Injured Reserve Mar 6
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: 19,070 | Capacity:

2025-26 Metropolitan Division Standings

TEAM W L PTS OTL
Carolina 48 21 102 6
Pittsburgh 38 22 92 16
NY Islanders 42 30 89 5
Columbus 38 26 88 12
Philadelphia 38 26 88 12
Washington 38 29 85 9
New Jersey 39 34 80 2
NY Rangers 31 36 71 9

2025-26 Atlantic Division Standings

TEAM W L PTS OTL
Tampa Bay 47 22 100 6
Buffalo 46 22 100 8
Montreal 44 21 98 10
Boston 43 25 94 8
Ottawa 39 26 88 10
Detroit 40 27 88 8
Florida 37 35 77 3
Toronto 32 31 77 13
Full Standings