One of the biggest stories as we begin the 2026 calendar year of the 2025-26 National Hockey League regular season is how hot the Buffalo Sabres are. The Sabres are winners of 10 straight games, and are currently in a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The Sabres are so hot at the moment, they are only six points back of the Detroit Red Wings for the best record in the Eastern Conference.
The fact that the Sabres are playing great hockey at the moment is noteworthy because during the streak, they fired general manager Kevyn Adams, and replaced him with Jarmo Kekalainen. The Sabres have also not made the playoffs since the 2010-11 NHL season. That is the longest drought in the NHL.
Who have the Sabres beaten during the streak?
The Sabres began the streak on December 9 in a 4-3 Sabres overtime win over the Edmonton Oilers. That was followed by a 3-2 Sabres win over the Vancouver Canucks on December 11, a 3-1 Sabres win over the Seattle Kraken on December 14, a 5-3 Sabres win over the Philadelphia Flyers on December 18, a 3-2 Sabres win over the New York Islanders on December 20, a 3-1 Sabres win over the New Jersey Devils on December 21, a 3-2 Sabres overtime win over the Ottawa Senators on December 23, a 4-1 Sabres win over the Boston Bruins on December 27, a 4-2 Sabres win over the St. Louis Blues on December 29, and an impressive 4-1 Sabres win over the Dallas Stars on New Year’s Eve.
During the streak, the Sabres have outscored their opponents 36-18. The overtime hero for the Sabres in their win over the Oilers was right winger Alex Tuch of Syracuse, New York. The overtime hero for the Sabres in their win over the Senators was defenseman Bowen Byram of Cranbrook, British Columbia.
Who have been the Sabres stars during the streak?
Offensively, the best Sabres player has been centre Tage Thompson of Phoenix, Arizona. In this stretch, Thompson has seven goals and seven assists for 14 points. Buffalo is also getting phenomenal goaltending from Alex Lyon of Baudette, Minnesota. In the month of December, Lyon had a record of seven wins and zero losses with a goals against average of 2.12, and a save percentage of .921.
Who do the Sabres play next?
On Saturday afternoon, the Sabres play the Columbus Blue Jackets. Columbus has the fewest points in the Eastern Conference with 40.
