Notes and numbers from Sabres’ continued dominance

With Tuesday’s win over San Jose, the 2025-26 Buffalo Sabres became the first team in franchise history with multiple winning streaks of eight-plus games. Both streaks – the current eight-gamer, the franchise-record-tying 10-gamer in December – have come during this 29-5-2 leap to the top of the Atlantic Division.

The Sabres woke up on Dec. 9 in last place in the conference, and the league standings since that day aren’t particularly close. They lead the NHL in each of these categories over the last three months:

Those regulation wins really speak to the Sabres' dominance, as their 34 all season trail only Colorado (38). Buffalo is winning frequently and decisively, without the stress and strain of 3-on-3 overtime. That's the first standings tiebreaker, so it could come in handy to determine playoff seeding.

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“We’ve won games in a lot of different ways, but I think the overall consistency of line to line and buying into how we need to play allows you to get to that point,” coach Lindy Ruff said of this latest streak. “Some nights it’s special teams. Some nights it’s our 5-on-5 play. … The fourth line chipping in. You need all of that to get on a run and to run games together.”

Here are some key numbers and trends behind Buffalo’s continued success.

Dahlin on the ice

Rasmus Dahlin has played 145:19 at 5-on-5 since the Olympic break, and the Sabres have outscored their opponents 16-2 during those minutes. They’ve also controlled 62 percent of the shots on goal and 58 percent of the expected goals (Natural Stat Trick).

That success has come without a regular defense partner; Dahlin has played 68 of those minutes with Mattias Samuelsson (up 5-1 in goals), 25 with Owen Power (6-1), 25 with Zach Metsa (1-0), 14 with Bowen Byram (2-0) and 14 with Michael Kesselring (2-0). In short, Dahlin with anyone has been an effective pairing for the Sabres.

And he’s hardly been a passenger for those goals. Dahlin is tied for fifth leaguewide with 12 points (2+12) during the eight-game streak, including three assists in Tuesday’s win. With 60 points (13+47) in 61 total games, the eighth-year defenseman has a real shot at his first point-per-game season.

Asked what explains his recent surge in production, the captain had a blunt response:

“Playing on a good team. That's simple as that.”

Zucker’s intensity

Jason Zucker missed 19 games with illness/injury earlier this season, but he already secured his eighth 20-goal campaign on Tuesday with a very Zucker-esque play: drive to the net, present a stick, slam home a rebound. It was his fifth goal of the last five games and his team-leading fifth game winner.

Every time the 15-year veteran scores, he looks like he's having the most fun of his life.

“Intense, yeah. It’s awesome,” said linemate Jack Quinn. “He’s got a lot of fire, and super competitive guy, and that’s what makes him so good to play with.

“He obviously has so much experience and makes so many little great plays, but I think he just brings it every night and drags us into the fight. Gets on pucks, wins battles, and you want to do the same.”

Their line with Ryan McLeod has played 303 5-on-5 minutes together this season, 19th most of any trio leaguewide, with excellent results, outscoring their opponents 24-12 and controlling 56 percent of the expected goals (Evolving Hockey). Call them Buffalo’s second line or third line; either way, they’re getting the job done.

Zucker, 34, has nine goals in 52 career playoff games, and he'll likely get a chance to add to that resume this spring.

Depth scoring

Buffalo has 10 players with 30-plus points this season; no other team has more than eight. Three Sabres teams have had 13 players reach 30 points in a season: 1981-82, 1975-76, and the 1974-75 cup finalists.

With strong finishes from Zach Benson (28 points), Noah Ostlund (24), Josh Norris (23) and Power (22), this year’s group could tie or break that franchise record.

Shorthanded threats

The Sabres’ penalty kill ranks fourth leaguewide at 82.5 percent, and since Dec. 9 they’ve allowed multiple power-play goals just once (Jan. 15 win vs. Montreal).

While allowing 31 total power-play goals, Buffalo has scored a league-leading 10 shorthanded: Mcleod has five, Alex Tuch three, Beck Malenstyn and Mattias Samuelsson one each.

McLeod and Tuch are usually first over the boards when the Sabres take a penalty. After they both scored shorthanded last Thursday in Pittsburgh, Ruff offered his take on what makes them so dangerous:

“You’ve got Tuch who’s got incredible reach and read. You’ve got Clouder who’s got great speed, and if he gets a step on anybody, you’ve seen him create a lot of breakaways shorthanded. Most power plays are 1-3-1, and if you get a puck by that last guy, you’re going to get some type of opportunity.

“Those guys have had good chemistry, they’ve had a lot of good kills for us, and scoring shorthanded is basically the little extra.”

Shorthanded goals can really swing the momentum in a game, and the Sabres are 9-0-0 this season when they get one.