Sabres end losing streak at 13 with win over Islanders
It's a holiday miracle.
The Buffalo Sabres picked up a dominant 7-1 victory over the New York Islanders on Monday night, ending their losing streak at 13 games.
Captain Rasmus Dahlin led the way with a career-high four assists, while 20-year-old forward Jiri Kulich starred with his first-ever two-goal game.
"Couldn't feel better than I do right now," Dahlin said, according to The Buffalo News' Lance Lysowski. "We battled for a long time now, and finally it went our way.
"When you do the right things over and over again, good things will happen to you. It's up to us now to keep this thing going and not be satisfied about one win. We have a long way left, we just got to keep going."
The skid marked the Sabres' third-longest losing streak in franchise history, trailing only an abysmal 18-game run in 2020-21 and 14-game slump in 2014-15.
Buffalo's last victory before Monday's trouncing was Nov. 23 against the San Jose Sharks.
"I think when you go through something like this, a journey that's awfully painful, when you come out of it, you should be a better team," head coach Lindy Ruff said.
The Sabres found the back of the net five times before Kyle Palmieri got the Islanders on the board in the final minute of the second period. Tage Thompson then notched an empty-netter in the third period after New York pulled Ilya Sorokin with 10 minutes remaining.
Kulich potted the game's last goal almost six minutes later with Sorokin back between the pipes.
"We should be embarrassed, honestly, in front of our fans to do that," Islanders forward Bo Horvat said of the lopsided loss, per the New York Post's Ethan Sears.
The Islanders are now in last place of the Metropolitan Division with a 13-15-7 record. The New York Rangers have the same number of points (33), but they've played in one less game.
Buffalo, meanwhile, is still in the basement of the Atlantic Division with a 12-19-4 record. The Sabres will return from the break Friday against the Chicago Blackhawks.