NHL-Schedules.com

New York Islanders at Buffalo Sabres

KeyBank Center, Buffalo Regular Season Final/SO

Final score

The Buffalo Sabres beat the New York Islanders 3–2 in a shootout on Saturday, December 20, 2025 at home.

Team Goals 2025-2026 record
New York Islanders 2 43-34-5
at Buffalo Sabres 3 50-23-9

Goals by period

Team Total
New York Islanders 0 1 1 0 0 2
Buffalo Sabres 1 1 0 0 1 3

Shots on goal by period

Team Total
New York Islanders 7 15 7 5 0 34
Buffalo Sabres 12 10 7 3 0 32

Three stars

  1. A. Lyon, Buffalo Sabres (goaltender)
  2. R. Dahlin, Buffalo Sabres (1 goal)
  3. J. Norris, Buffalo Sabres

Scoring summary

Period Time Team Goal Assists Type Score
1st 01:47 Buffalo Sabres Rasmus Dahlin (4) Alex Lyon (1) Power play NYI 0, BUF 1
2nd 08:55 Buffalo Sabres Tage Thompson (18) Josh Doan (14), Peyton Krebs (10) Even strength NYI 0, BUF 2
2nd 19:37 New York Islanders Mathew Barzal (10) Anders Lee (14), Simon Holmstrom (8) Even strength NYI 1, BUF 2
3rd 19:31 New York Islanders Emil Heineman (12) Mathew Barzal (19), Matthew Schaefer (15) Power play NYI 2, BUF 2

Numbers in brackets are the player's season totals after the goal.

Shootout

Round Team Shooter Result
1 Buffalo Sabres Tage Thompson Saved
1 New York Islanders Mathew Barzal Goal
2 Buffalo Sabres Jack Quinn Goal
2 New York Islanders Simon Holmstrom Saved
3 Buffalo Sabres Alex Tuch Saved
3 New York Islanders Emil Heineman Saved
4 Buffalo Sabres Noah Ostlund Saved
4 New York Islanders Jonathan Drouin Saved
5 Buffalo Sabres Josh Norris Goal (winner)
5 New York Islanders Calum Ritchie Saved

Team stats

Stat New York Islanders Buffalo Sabres
Shots on goal 34 32
Power play 1 of 3 1 of 4
Penalty minutes 8 6
Hits 25 18
Blocked shots 8 11
Giveaways 21 18
Takeaways 4 5
Faceoffs won 33/60 (55%) 27/60 (45%)

Box score

New York Islanders

New York Islanders skaters
Player
7 M. Tsyplakov R 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 100% 12:08
10 S. Holmstrom R 0 1 1 +1 0 2 0 0 0 17:49
11 A. Duclair L 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 33.3% 10:48
13 M. Barzal C 1 1 2 +1 2 4 0 1 0 53.8% 23:33
16 M. Gatcomb C 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 0 0 11:14
27 A. Lee L 0 1 1 +1 0 0 1 0 0 50% 20:04
29 J. Drouin L 0 0 0 -1 0 0 0 0 0 83.3% 17:16
32 K. MacLean C 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 13:55
44 J. Pageau C 0 0 0 -1 2 3 1 0 0 69.2% 15:34
51 E. Heineman L 1 0 1 -1 0 10 4 1 1 18:49
53 C. Cizikas C 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 35.7% 16:18
64 C. Ritchie C 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 33.3% 12:57
3 A. Pelech D 0 0 0 +1 2 1 4 0 0 26:25
6 R. Pulock D 0 0 0 -1 0 2 2 1 0 20:18
24 S. Mayfield D 0 0 0 +1 0 1 2 1 0 17:48
41 M. Warren D 0 0 0 0 2 1 1 0 0 09:51
48 M. Schaefer D 0 1 1 -1 0 3 1 1 0 23:36
77 T. DeAngelo D 0 0 0 0 0 3 2 0 0 22:55
New York Islanders goalies
Goalie
33 D. Rittich 32 30 2 .938 62:39 OT loss

Buffalo Sabres

Buffalo Sabres skaters
Player
6 Z. Benson L 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 18:25
9 J. Norris C 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 33.3% 19:39
12 J. Greenway L 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 100% 09:33
19 P. Krebs C 0 1 1 0 0 0 3 1 0 40% 13:29
22 J. Quinn R 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 15:24
29 B. Malenstyn L 0 0 0 0 2 1 5 1 0 08:55
44 J. Dunne C 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 60% 10:20
71 R. McLeod C 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 13.3% 17:06
72 T. Thompson C 1 0 1 0 0 4 0 0 0 63.2% 22:48
86 N. Ostlund C 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 100% 14:42
89 A. Tuch R 0 0 0 0 2 5 1 1 0 33.3% 21:06
91 J. Doan R 0 1 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 19:09
4 B. Byram D 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 1 0 22:49
8 M. Kesselring D 0 0 0 -1 2 2 1 3 0 17:28
23 M. Samuelsson D 0 0 0 +1 0 0 1 1 0 24:12
25 O. Power D 0 0 0 -1 0 2 0 2 0 17:05
26 R. Dahlin D 1 0 1 +1 0 5 1 0 1 25:52
73 Z. Metsa D 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 14:05
Buffalo Sabres goalies
Goalie
34 A. Lyon 34 32 2 .941 64:55 Win

Penalties

Period Time Team Player Infraction Minutes
1st 01:27 New York Islanders Mathew Barzal Tripping 2
1st 02:43 Buffalo Sabres Beck Malenstyn Hooking 2
1st 05:01 New York Islanders Adam Pelech Delaying game puck over glass 2
3rd 04:24 New York Islanders Jean-Gabriel Pageau Tripping 2
3rd 09:41 New York Islanders Marshall Warren Delaying game puck over glass 2
3rd 18:33 Buffalo Sabres Michael Kesselring Slashing 2
OT 04:43 Buffalo Sabres Alex Tuch Tripping 2

Game information

New York Islanders head coach
Patrick Roy
Buffalo Sabres head coach
Lindy Ruff
Referees
Furman South, Brandon Schrader
Linesmen
Matt MacPherson, Kilian McNamara
New York Islanders scratches
Bo Horvat, Adam Boqvist, Max Shabanov
Buffalo Sabres scratches
Jacob Bryson, Isak Rosen, Tyson Kozak

2025-2026 season series

Matchup Status Details
New York Islanders 2 at Buffalo Sabres 3 Final/SO Game page
Buffalo Sabres 5 at New York Islanders 0 Final Game page
New York Islanders 3 at Buffalo Sabres 4 Final Game page

Other NHL games on Dec 20

Matchup Status Details
Philadelphia Flyers 4 at New York Rangers 5 Final/SO Game page
Detroit Red Wings 5 at Washington Capitals 2 Final Game page
Chicago Blackhawks 4 at Ottawa Senators 6 Final Game page
Edmonton Oilers 2 at Minnesota Wild 5 Final Game page
St. Louis Blues 6 at Florida Panthers 2 Final Game page
Vancouver Canucks 5 at Boston Bruins 4 Final/SO Game page
Pittsburgh Penguins 0 at Montreal Canadiens 4 Final Game page
Carolina Hurricanes 4 at Tampa Bay Lightning 6 Final Game page
Toronto Maple Leafs 3 at Nashville Predators 5 Final Game page
Vegas Golden Knights 3 at Calgary Flames 6 Final Game page
Columbus Blue Jackets 3 at Anaheim Ducks 4 Final Game page
Seattle Kraken 4 at San Jose Sharks 2 Final Game page

Sources and further reading

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