Half-season recap of the 2025-26 Sabres

The Buffalo Sabres reached the halfway point of the 2025-26 regular season with their 41st game on Tuesday, a 5-3 win over the Vancouver Canucks.

At 48 points, they currently sit one point behind Pittsburgh for the second wild-card spot and four points behind Montreal (with a game in hand) for third place in the Atlantic Division. Buffalo’s .585 points percentage (22-15-6) ranks eighth in the Eastern Conference.

It’s been an up-and-down road to this point, and if you’re just recently tuning in, you’ve missed a lot. Before the Sabres begin the second half Thursday at the New York Rangers, here are the most significant developments from the last three months.

10-game winning streak

After a back-and-forth, 7-4 loss on Dec. 8 in Calgary, Tage Thompson said, “I think everyone in here is tired of saying we played a good game and didn’t get a win.”

For nearly a month after that, the Sabres did nothing but play good games and win. It began the next night in Edmonton, where they overcame Connor McDavid and other elements to beat the Oilers in overtime, and it continued through the New Years Eve dominance of the Dallas Stars. In between, they also beat the Canucks, Kraken, Flyers, Islanders, Devils, Senators, Bruins and Blues.

Reliable goaltending, responsible defending and relentless forechecking led the way to 10 consecutive wins, which tied the franchise record and vaulted the Sabres from last place to their current spot: in contention for a Stanley Cup Playoffs berth.

A change at GM

Three games into the streak, senior advisor Jarmo Kekäläinen replaced Kevyn Adams as general manager. Kekäläinen, known for his no-nonsense approach and straightforward messaging, didn’t mince words in the opening statement of his introductory press conference.

“There’s been games this year where we looked like it was going to be easy, and then we lost because we got outworked,” he said Dec. 16. “That’s unacceptable, and that’s going to be something that we’re going to focus on every day here, each and every day. Because the talent, the skill alone, is not going to get you the wins in this league. Every team’s too good, so you’ve got to work and you’ve got to compete, you’ve got to be relentless, and that’s what I want the identity of the Buffalo Sabres to be.”

Kekäläinen quickly began adding to his front office, hiring Marc Bergevin as associate GM and Josh Flynn as assistant GM.

• Read: Kekäläinen discusses new hires Bergevin and Flynn

Norris, other new contributors

An injury in the season opener sidelined Josh Norris for the next 24 games. The talented center returned Dec. 1 with a bang, recording two goals and an assist in a 5-1 win over the Winnipeg Jets.

Norris has been as advertised ever since, collecting 14 points (5+9) in 14 games, including a goal and four assists on the power play.

He, plus other new contributors like Josh Doan (13+15) and Noah Ostlund (7+5), have helped the Sabres rank 14th with 3.10 goals per game. Defensively, they’ve allowed 3.15 per game, a significant improvement from last season’s 3.50 mark, and those two-way forwards have played a role there, too.

Samuelsson’s breakout

Captain Rasmus Dahlin has been his usual self, especially lately, but the Sabres keep pointing to his partner, Mattias Samuelsson, as the team’s best defenseman this season.

The 6-foot-4 Samuelsson is a shutdown defender against top scorers, an imposing physical presence, a willing shot blocker and a stalwart on the NHL’s second-ranked penalty kill; his 83 blocks and 107:33 of shorthanded ice time both lead the Sabres.

The alternate captain has long been a revered figure in the locker room, and he’s also emerged as an offensive threat, already setting career highs in both goals (6) and assists (14).

• From November: Samuelsson is breaking out and having a blast

Pivotal comeback in Detroit

On Nov. 15, the Sabres were on the verge of a sixth straight loss, trailing the Detroit Red Wings 4-1 late in the second period at Little Caesars Arena.

From there, they stormed back with four unanswered goals, including Samuelsson’s in overtime, to win 5-4.

It was Buffalo’s first road win after an 0-5-2 start and its first overtime win after four straight 3-on-3 defeats. Since then, the Sabres have gone 9-5-0 on the road and 4-0 in games decided after regulation. Overall, they’re 17-7-0 since that thrilling Detroit comeback; had that game ended differently, this season might’ve gone a much different direction.

“When you’re down like that, you’ve got nothing to lose, really,” Samuelsson said postgame. “So, go out, play, fight, have a little ‘F U’ in your game.”

Updates from Wednesday's practice

The Sabres practiced Wednesday before flying to New York, mostly working on the power play during the skate.

Colten Ellis occupied the starter’s net, indicating he could be playing Thursday against the Rangers. Alex Lyon (lower body) is likely out another 7-10 days, coach Lindy Ruff said. So, Thursday or sometime soon, Ellis will see his first game action since being concussed Dec. 9 in Edmonton.

• Injuries and transactions | Latest on Lyon, Kesselring, others

“He was playing well before the incident happened, and we know with the schedule we’ve got, we need two goaltenders," Ruff said.

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen has started five games since the Ellis injury, going 4-1-0 with a .933 save percentage and 2.01 goals-against average.

Up next

Thursday's puck drop at Madison Square Garden is scheduled for 7 p.m., with MSG's pregame coverage beginning at 6:30.