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The Buffalo Sabres lost their most recent game – a 6-3 loss to the Colorado Avalanche Thursday.’Once again, the Sabres got stomped, and Thursday’s loss to the Avs came one day after their loss to the Utah Mammoth.

That 5-2 loss to Utah was particularly stinging for Buffalo’s fan base, as Utah got a goal and an assist coming from former Sabre J.J. Peterka. The goal was Peterka’s fifth of the season and the 12th point of the year, and you’d better believe it felt good to stick it to his former team.

Meanwhile, on Thursday, the Sabres got hammered in Colorado. And that latest loss has Buffalo once again at the bottom of the standings. The loss to the Avs was Buffalo’s fifth in a row – with their last four losses all coming in regulation time – and the Sabres have now lost eight of their past nine games.

Needless to say, this is just beyond the pale for this Buffalo team. You are what your record says you are, and unfortunately for Buffalo fans, this is a 5-8-4 Sabres team. 

There’s no sugar-coating it – the Sabres are demonstrably terrible. There is no quality depth on this Buffalo team. There is no quality defense on this team. And there are no goalies on this team who can consistently steal games for Buffalo.

Sabres Heading Into Brutal Stretch That Could Bury Their Playoff HopesA brutal four-game stretch looms for the Sabres this week. Facing above-average NHL teams including the Avalanche and Oilers, Buffalo's playoff hopes hang in the balance.

So, who pays the price for the Sabres’ latest swoon? You’d have to think both GM Kevyn Adams and coach Lindy Ruff pay the price by losing their jobs. That’s just a given at this stage. But when it comes to the roster, we’d say only forward Tage Thompson and defenseman Rasmus Dahlin aren’t going to be traded. Otherwise, just about every Sabres players could be moved.

This latest losing skid is exactly what Buffalo was hoping to avoid. The fact Sabres players couldn’t do so is an indictment of the organization, the coaching staff, and the players themselves. And now that it looks like there will be no playoff hockey in Buffalo for the 15th straight season, somebody needs to be accountable for it.

That means the end of the line for Adams and Ruff, two longtime Buffalo residents who, for one reason or another, could never get the job done. They had good intentions, of course. But this isn’t the National Good Intentions League. This is the National Hockey League, and the Sabres just aren’t very good at hockey.

Sabres Must Get Out Of Losing Spiral, Or Deal With The ConsequencesThe Sabres' losing streak is threatening their playoff hopes. Can Buffalo finally break the cycle before time runs out on their post-season dreams?

The status quo is a non-starter for this Buffalo team. Change has to come for the Sabres, and change has to come now. This Sabres squad simply doesn’t have what it takes to consistently win games, and until such time as a page is turned on this terrible era for the franchise, the losing and suffering is going to continue.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

The Los Angeles Kings picked up where they began in this six-game road trip, continuing their impressive run away from home, rallying from a 2-0 hole to defeat the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-3 in Overtime on Thursday afternoon. 

In what might go down as one of their grittiest wins of the season so far, the Kings once again are showing why they're slowly becoming one of the toughest road teams to beat in 2025. 

LA Kings (@LAKings) on X📰 LA Team Beats Toronto Team in Extra Time in Toronto 📰

Maple Leafs Jump Ahead

The Kings went down early, trailing 2-0, after a couple of costly turnovers and other bad moments that wound up in their net. The Kings would eventually settle in and tie the score 2-2 in the second period after a pair of goals from Warren Foegele and Kevin Fiala. 

Kings Respond

But the Maple Leafs weren’t done. John Tavares would strike again, scoring his second goal of the game, giving Toronto back the lead 3-2 heading into the third. Even with the Maple Leafs leading, the Kings kept battling and weren’t phased at all by playing in Toronto. 

Statement Road Win

The fight would pay off in the third period with Alex Laffarie deflecting a point shot from Brandt Clarke into the net of the final period, tying the game 3-3 and forcing overtime. In the extra period, Drew Doughty fed a perfect pass to Quinton Byfield, who buried the goal to seal the 4-3 victory 35 seconds in overtime for Los Angeles. 

LA Kings (@LAKings) on XLAFFY CALLS TIE

The win was special because the Kings never bowed to the Maple Leafs in a challenging environment. It was also great to see Los Angeles record their road point streak for the ninth straight game, being the fifth time in the last 20 seasons that the Kings have achieved this feat. 

12 games (11-0-1) in 2023-24

10 games (8-0-2) in 2021-22

10 games (8-0-2) in 2013-14

9 games (6-0-3) in 2010-11

The victory improves the Kings to (9-5-4) and gives them an impressive road record at (8-1-2). Coach Jim Hiller said after the game that he’s "really proud" of how the team played tonight.

"I think we've found a little bit of our rhythm and now we're in a good place.”

The message is clear for the Kings: they’ve found their confidence, and it keeps growing more by the day, especially away from home, where they continue to score points at an elite rate. 

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LAS VEGAS (AP) — Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored a short-handed goal at 3:02 of overtime, and the New York Islanders beat the Vegas Golden Knights 4-3 on Thursday night for their third straight win.

Matthew Schaefer had a goal and an assist, and Mathew Barzal and Emil Heineman also scored for New York. Bo Horvat and Jonathan Drouin each had two assists and Ilya Sorokin stopped 26 shots as the Islanders improved to 5-1-1 in their last seven games.

Shea Theodore, Thomas Hertl and Reilly Smith scored for Vegas, which lost its fourth straight (0-2-2) and seventh in its last nine (2-4-3). Akira Schmid finished with 20 saves.

On a delayed penalty for too many men on the Islanders, Sorokin denied a driving attempt by Jack Eichel, and Hertl’s try on the rebound went off the crossbar.

After the penalty was called, Pageau got the puck after a draw in the Islanders’ zone, skated up the ice and fired a shot past Schmid from the right circle for the win.

Barzal tied it 3-3 with a one-timer from the left circle off a pass from Schaefer with 2:37 remaining.

The Golden Knights had taken the lead with three straight goals after falling behind 2-0 in the first period.

Theodore got the Golden Knights on the board with 1:04 left in the second. Theodore cut through several players, went in on Sorokin and sent the puck as he fell down. Sorokin appeared to deny the attempt but Theodore’s loose stick pushed the puck across the line.

Hertl tied it at 8:23 of the third as he scored on the rebound of Jack Eichel’s shot during a delayed penalty.

Smith put the Golden Knights ahead 2:22 later, scoring from the right side on a sharp angle near the goal line.

Heineman gave the Islanders a 1-0 lead with 5:57 left in the first as he scored from the top of the right circle.

Schaefer doubled the lead with a power-play goal on a long shot from the point through traffic with 2:01 to go in the opening period.

Up next

Islanders: At Utah on Friday night.

Golden Knights: At St. Louis on Saturday night.

DENVER — Martin Nečas recorded two goals and two assists to lead the Colorado Avalanche to a 6–3 victory at Ball Arena on Thursday night, securing their fifth consecutive win while sending the Buffalo Sabres to their fifth straight loss. 

Nathan MacKinnon picked up an assist to extend his point streak to 11 games (eight goals, 15 assists), while Gabriel Landeskog netted the 250th goal of his NHL career and Gavin Brindley contributed a goal and an assist for the Avalanche (12–1–5). Mackenzie Blackwood stopped 19 shots in the win. 

NHL (@NHL) on X52 SECONDS IN ⏰ Martin Necas makes it look so easy!

For the Sabres, former Colorado defenseman Bowen Byram found the scoresheet, while Tage Thompson contributed a goal and an assist. Jordan Greenway added a tally of his own for Buffalo (5-8-4), a club mired in a five-game skid and losers in eight of their last nine. 

Goaltender Alex Lyon surrendered two goals on three shots before being pulled at 6:10 of the opening period in favor of Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, who steadied the net with 26 saves in relief.

Nečas delivered a four-point performance in response to consecutive outings that head coach Jared Bednar characterized as below his usual standard. 

"I thought Marty had a really nice bounce back game," he stated. "He's had, not from a lack of effort, but probably not his most detailed last couple of games. He had a meeting this morning with (Dave Hakstol) and looked at some things; he was better tonight, and he found the back of the net a couple of times, so a big performance by him to get back on track."

First Period 

Just 52 seconds into the game, Cale Makar spotted Nečas streaking down the middle and sent him on a breakaway. Nečas buried a top-shelf wrister past Lyon to give Colorado an early 1–0 lead. 

A short time later, Buffalo’s Beck Malenstyn got into it with a couple of Avs, but the confrontation cooled quickly once Landeskog grabbed hold of his helmet and ripped it off. Officials stepped in, and no penalties were issued. 

At 6:10 of the period, the Avs extended the lead to 2–0 when Artturi Lehkonen punched in a rebound off a Sam Malinski shot. 

Following the second goal, the Sabres pulled Lyon in favor of Luukkonen. 

Buffalo answered not long after, capitalizing when Blackwood mishandled a cover attempt, allowing former Av Byram to score against his old team. 

Two minutes later, Colorado struck again to make it 3–1. Brindley fed Ross Colton at the blue line, and Colton redirected the puck to Brock Nelson, who quickly snapped a wrist shot over Luukkonen’s right shoulder to restore the two-goal cushion. 

Nearly four minutes after that, the Avs got caught napping. Buffalo’s Owen Power lofted the puck into Colorado’s defensive zone, and Jordan Greenway hustled to win the race, batting it out of the air past Blackwood to cut the deficit back to one. 

Late in the period, Landeskog scored off a rebound, but the goal was waved off after officials ruled that Jack Drury had committed goaltender interference on the play. 

Second Period 

Early in the second period, Josh Manson one-timed a shot from the point off a pass from Brent Burns, but Luukkonen slid to his right to make the save. 

Colorado went on the penalty kill at 6:30 after Landeskog was called for tripping Byram. Once the Avs killed it off, the Sabres took their turn in the box after Owen Power tripped Necas along the boards. The Avs immediately turned on the jets off the rush on the ensuing power play, with MacKinnon carrying the puck up ice and snapping a quick shot, only for Luukkonen to snag it with the glove. 

MacKinnon headed to the box moments later after falling and swinging his stick into Byram’s knees, drawing a slashing call. The Sabres capitalized on the power play when Thompson blasted a one-timer off a feed from Isak Rosen past an outstretched Blackwood. 

Gavin Brindley, the young phenom, came up big once again, giving the Avs a 4–3 lead with 3:22 left in the period. He took a pass from Manson and fired a wrister that beat Luukkonen blocker-side, sending the home crowd into pure jubilation. 

Third Period 

The Avalanche opened the final period on the power play after Tyson Kozak was assessed a high-sticking minor on Ross Colton. No blood was drawn, so the call remained a standard two-minute infraction. Colorado’s top unit generated several high-quality chances, but Luukkonen stood tall, turning away each attempt with poised, technical efficiency. 

Moments later, Sam Girard—making his first appearance in 15 games following an upper-body injury—nearly authored a storybook return. He fired a shot from the left circle toward a wide-open net, only for Luukkonen to sprawl across the crease and deflect it in a highlight-reel save that ultimately rang off the post. 

Meanwhile, Taylor Makar, younger brother of Cale, delivered a performance well beyond what might be expected less than 24 hours after being recalled from the Colorado Eagles. Though Luukkonen denied his scoring attempts, Makar was a persistent presence in the Sabres’ zone, applying sustained, intelligent pressure and consistently driving play in Colorado’s favor. 

Nečas scored his second of the night with 3:07 when he one-timed a shot in the slot from MacKinnon to give the Avalanche a 5-3 lead. Landeskog subsequently added an empty-net goal with less than two minutes to go in regulation to seal a 6-3 win for the Avalanche, although it appeared Nečas was going to go for the hat trick, he instead put his team first and served up a freebie for the captain to get him on the board.

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On Thursday, the Winnipeg Jets fell 5–3 to the Seattle Kraken, marking their fourth loss in five games as the reigning Presidents’ Trophy winners continue to navigate unfamiliar territory.

Winnipeg led on three separate occasions but couldn’t find the insurance goals needed to put Seattle away. The Kraken relentlessly pushed back, scoring three times in the third period to take control. Still, there were bright spots for the Jets. Alex Iafallo scored for the second straight game after a brief point drought, and his goal also gave captain Adam Lowry his first point of the season thanks to a sharp setup. Mark Scheifele did his part with a goal, an assist, and a drawn penalty as he tried to spark a comeback, but it ultimately wasn’t enough.

Newest Injury Report Brings Encouraging News For JetsThe Winnipeg Jets announced Thursday that Dylan Samberg and Gustav Nyquist are back ahead of Thursday's matchup versus the Seattle Kraken.

The game started off as a defensive slugfest as both sides are known for their elite defense with the Jets finally cracking the mold and getting the first goal on the board half-way through the first. After a clean breakout of their end, Winnipeg found themselves with a four-on-two odd man rush with Alex Iafallo rushing towards the netfront. Jets captain Adam Lowry holds the puck until just the right moment and fires through a pass that re-directs off Iafallo and goes in for the go-ahead goal for Winnipeg. 

Winnipeg Jets (@NHLJets) on XChemistry levels are off the chart 📈🤩

The Kraken were anxious to even up the score and applied an aggressive forecheck that the Jets weren't ready for. After battling for the puck in the boards, Jaden Schwartz regains possession for the Kraken by pressuring the Jets defense. Schwartz gets the puck back along the board with Kraken winger Kaapo Kakko making sure to get in front of the net for a chance. The former second overall pick by the Rangers gets in position and tips a Schwartz shot past Winnipeg's Connor Hellebuyck for the tying goal. 

Things were tied after the first but the Jets lethal top line didn't waste long to make their presence felt. Winnipeg center Mark Scheifele found room behind the Seattle defense and opened up for a breakaway as defenseman Neal Pionk, hit him with a perfect breakout pass for a solo chance. Scheifele buries the shot to put the Jets back up. 

The Kraken weren't done there as they again fought back four minutes later to tie things up. Seattle kept the puck in Winnipeg's end for a lengthy possession and their chance came when Kraken forward Ryan Winterton worked the puck to infront of the Jets net and with a few bounces found Vince Dunn's stick. The Seattle defenseman was able to get enough of it to direct the puck past Winnipeg's Connor Hellebuyck to tie the game at two goals a piece.

Each side battled hard for the win, and the intensity showed on special teams as both traded power-play goals. The Jets closed out the second period with a strong cycle that left star winger Kyle Connor open in the high slot for a one-timer, and he made no mistake, beating Seattle’s Philipp Grubauer.

Winnipeg Jets (@NHLJets) on XKYLE CONNOR on the POWER PLAY 😏

Seattle came out energized after killing another penalty early in the third. They turned that momentum into a response on their next power-play opportunity, setting up a play eerily similar to Winnipeg’s goal. Kraken forward Eeli Tolvanen ripped a one-timer from nearly the same spot Connor had scored from, snapping it past Hellebuyck to tie the game for the third time and keep the Kraken within striking distance.

The momentum was firmly on Seattle's side following some scrums that energized the home crowd. Jets defenseman Dylan DeMelo tries to keep up with Seattle's Jordan Eberle but the former first overall pick freed himself up for a perfectly-timed cross crease pass from Kraken center Matty Beniers for the Kraken's fourth goal on the night and giving them their first lead. Eberle sealed the win with an empty-netter for his second goal of the night, as he and Matty Beniers combined to torch the Jets on the final two tallies. Winnipeg’s last-minute push couldn’t overcome the resulting two-goal deficit. 

Without a goal on Thursday, Nyquist has failed to score in his first 12 games of the season, marking his slowest start of his career, tying his longest goal drought to begin a season since his rookie year in 2011-12.  Winnipeg's Tanner Pearson also continue his scoring drought, now at 13 games with many fans wondering if he'll continue to hold his spot in the lineup moving forward. 

Moose Battle Back From Two-Goal Deficit To Edge IceHogsShots denied, comeback ignited. Moose shock IceHogs with stunning shorthanded and power-play goals to secure a dramatic victory.

The Jets will look to rebound Saturday night on Hockey Night in Canada when playing the Calgary Flames in an all-Canadian clash that fans won't want to miss. The matchup will be the last stop of Winnipeg's lengthy five-game road trip and will see them return home to play the Columbus Blue Jackets next Tuesday. 

For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.

The Boston Bruins’ seven-game winning streak started after a 7-2 loss in Ottawa on October 27th and that's where it went to die as well. The Senators once again blew an early 2-0 lead, but this time, thanks to a pair of late goals from Tim Stützle, they recovered to defeat the Bruins 5-3 at Canadian Tire Centre on Thursday night.

With the victory, the Senators improved their record to 9-5-4, good for a three-way tie for top spot in the Atlantic with Boston and Montreal. The Canadiens were clobbered by Dallas on Thursday night 7-0 but still hold the edge by virtue of playing one fewer game than the Senators.

To recap, for all the anxiety and so-called troubling moments in the first month, no one in the Atlantic Division has more points than the Ottawa Senators. Stützle ended the night with two goals and an assist, Leevi Meriläinen made 18 saves for the Senators, and Michael Amadio extended his points streak to six games.

Claude Giroux got the game started with a power play goal less than 2 minutes into the game. The Senators created some space for themselves with some excellent passing just prior to the goal. Finally, Giroux one-timed a cross-ice pass from Stutzle to give the Senators a 1-0 lead.

Dylan Cozens made it 2-0 at the end of the period with another one-timer. Fabian Zetterlund outmuscled his man behind the Boston net and hit Cozens all alone in the high slot area.

Boston pushed back in the second on Morgan Geekie’s 12th goal of the season, which would be the only goal of the second period.

Just over a minute into the third, Shane Pinto scored his ninth goal of the season. On the day of his new four-year extension, Pinto ends his nine-game goalless drought.

After starting the year going scoreless in the team’s first seven games, Amadio has now put up a point in nine of his 11 games since. His assist tonight was a perfect saucer pass to Shane Pinto, who redirected it into the net. It was a fine gift to Pinto for signing his new four-year extension earlier in the day.

The Senators seemed to be in good shape at that point at 3-1, but their lead would last barely four minutes. With the Bruins on the power play, David Pastrnak appeared to cut into the lead with his 11th goal of the year, but it was overturned on an offside challenge. On the same power play, though, Pastrnak got one that counted to cut the lead to 3-2.

Less than 2 minutes later, former Senator Mark Kastelic tied the game, chipping a puck past Meriläinen.

That's when Stützle went to work. His hard wrist shot on a perfect pass from Drake Batherson gave Ottawa a 4-3 lead with under 6 minutes to play, and then Stützle put the contest to bed with an empty-net goal. As with the Pastrnak situation, Stützle had a chance at a do-over: Stützle hit the post on an empty-net try but then scored for real to ice the game.

The Sens limp out of this one with more injury concerns on the blue line. Already without Thomas Chabot, Jake Sanderson played the second half of the game with a sore hand after blocking a shot. And Nick Jensen, who's barely a month into his comeback from hip resurfacing surgery, hobbled off the ice at the end of the second and did not return.

Head coach Travis Green had no update on Jensen's status. If Jensen and Chabot both can't go on Saturday, this may create an opportunity for top prospect Carter Yakemchuk.

The Senators have now only lost once in regulation in their last 12 games, but their schedule now gets a bit quirky. The Sens have only one game in the next week and it happens on Saturday at home against the Los Angeles Kings. Then the club is off until next Thursday when they begin a long seven-game road trip. Saturday's game against the Kings will be their last home game until December 4th.

Steve Warne
The Hockey News/Ottawa