The Buffalo Sabres already averted disaster. They brought a swift end to a three-game losing streak to open the season that was giving fans flashbacks to last year's 13-game losing skid, which essentially ended the team's campaign before Christmas. Questions remain, though.
Buffalo has leaned heavily on fill-in goalie Alex Lyon, who's played remarkably well in lieu of injured incumbent starter Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, and received high-end production from the likes of Josh Doan and Zach Benson to make up for modest numbers from its superstars.
It creates uncertainty about where the Sabres heading from here. Are they emerging as a potential playoff threat in the Eastern Conference? Or will their recent burst of strong play fade away like it often has during the franchise's 14-year postseason drought?
A few key topics will play a substantial role in deciding the team's fate.
Critical questions that remain unanswered for the Buffalo Sabres early in the 2025-26 season
Where is Tage Thompson's goal-scoring prowess?
Thompson, who entered the campaign as a 50-goal candidate, has found the net just once in five games despite 19 shots on goal. His only tally came on a long wrist shot through traffic from just inside the blue line. His inability to create high-danger looks is a worrisome trend so far.
The 27-year-old Team USA Olympic hopeful has generated just 1.89 individual expected goals (ixG) across 94 all-situation minutes, per Natural Stat Trick. That includes 0.6 ixG in nearly 18 minutes on the ice leading the team's power play.
Those numbers aren't good enough, and it leaves Tage on a 16-goal pace for the season. History suggests he'll eventually find a rhythm and start lighting the lamp at a rapid rate, but that's going to require him to find the most dangerous areas of the ice more consistently.
Thompson has been lurking on the outside too often and, even with the lethal shot he possesses, it's made life far too easy on opposing netminders.
Can Alex Lyon maintain his Vezina Trophy-level play?
Goaltending was the Sabres' biggest question mark entering the season and, at least so far, it's been the club's most consistent strength. Lyon probably deserves to retain the starting role, regardless of UPL's status, thanks to a 2.43 goals against average and .928 save percentage.
Here's the problem: Nothing in the 32-year-old goalie's track record suggests he'll be able to maintain that level of play for an entire campaign. His best save percentage came with the Florida Panthers in 2022-23 (.912 SV% in just 15 games) and his career mark in that category stands at .903.
The Sabres have little choice but to ride Lyon's hot hand for as long as possible since Luukkonen was coming off an awful 2024-25 season (.887 SV%) even before the pair of training camp injuries. It's highly uncertain what UPL will be able to provide once healthy.
Lyon isn't going to remain in the Vezina conversation all season, but if he can maintain something around a .910 SV%, it should be enough to keep Buffalo in the playoff mix.
What's next in the Alex Tuch contract saga?
The Sabres needed re-sign Tuch before the start of the regular season. It's something we covered extensively during the preseason. That didn't happen, however, and now the future of one of Buffalo's cornerstones is very much in doubt.
Tuch's agent, Brian Bartlett, told David Pagnotta and Irfaan Gaffar of The Fourth Period that contract extension talks between the sides have been put on the “back burner.”
"I think we've all kind of decided that it's best to just try to get some wins here," Bartlett said. "Alex is a leader on that team, both play-wise and kind of, you know, in the room. So he wants to focus on that, not have it a distraction, so we've wanted to just kind of let everyone know, like, we're just gonna put this on the back burner for a little bit — doesn't mean that we're closing the door to signing, doesn't mean anything, just means that, you know, for the time period, he's gotta try to help the Buffalo Sabres win games."
The Sabres can't afford to play the waiting game. The worst-case scenario is keeping Tuch all season, not getting a deal done and then watching him enter free agency without getting anything in return. If an extension isn't in place by the deadline, a trade must be heavily considered.
Buffalo general manager Kevyn Adams should be checking in with Bartlett consistently to see whether the Syracuse-born winger is willing to sign a new contract. At the latest, the Olympic break in February will be the last opportunity ahead of the March trade deadline.
Yes, the Sabres should do everything in their power to keep Tuch, but every passing day brings more risk into the equation for the Blue and Gold.