The Buffalo Sabres earned a 4-1 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes at KeyBank Center on Sunday, snapping Carolina's five-game point streak. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 29 saves for Buffalo, while Tage Thompson extended his goal streak to six games with an empty-netter. The Hurricanes struggled with energy amid a road trip and illness affecting captain Jordan Staal.
Game Overview
The Buffalo Sabres improved to 9-9-4 with a 4-1 win against the Carolina Hurricanes (14-6-2) on November 23, 2025, at KeyBank Center. Buffalo has now won four of its past five games, while Carolina's five-game point streak (3-0-2) came to an end.
Key Moments
First Period: Alex Tuch gave Buffalo a 1-0 lead on a power-play goal at 5:51, assisted by Ryan McLeod and Josh Doan. Shayne Gostisbehere tied it 1-1 for Carolina on a power-play goal at 14:36, capitalizing on a scramble in front of Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen.
Second Period: Jack Quinn scored at 3:55, assisted by McLeod and Jason Zucker, to make it 2-1. Beck Malenstyn extended the lead to 3-1 at 18:36 with a highlight-reel goal, deking Sebastian Aho before wristing it past Frederik Andersen; assists to Tyson Kozak and Peyton Krebs.
Third Period: Tage Thompson sealed the 4-1 final with an empty-net goal at 19:38, assisted by Zach Benson, marking his sixth straight game with a goal (12 goals in 22 games). Carolina outshot Buffalo 13-4 in the third but couldn't mount a comeback.
Luukkonen earned his second straight win with 29 saves, including key stops in the second and third periods. Andersen made 17 saves for Carolina.
Quotes and Notes
Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff praised Luukkonen: "I thought tonight [Luukkonen] really played great." Captain Rasmus Dahlin added, "This has to be our minimum... competing, skating, doing the little things right."
Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour said, "I’ll try to keep it PG here -- not very good... the energy was just so dead, and we played like it." Gostisbehere noted, "It was a pretty rough second for us, but come in the third, give it a push... Just stop putting ourselves in a hole."
Carolina played without captain Jordan Staal due to illness. Andrei Svechnikov skated in his 500th NHL game, recording five shots. Zach Benson returned for Buffalo after missing 10 games with a lower-body injury, logging 16:56 and an assist.
