The Boston Bruins tried to bully the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday night. In past years, it would have been a highly effective strategy against a roster unwilling to stand up for teammates. Things have changed during the early stages of the 2025-26 season, though.
Buffalo, which suffered its third straight overtime loss, didn't back down from Boston's challenges, highlighted by a fight featuring the Sabres' Peyton Krebs and Bruins' Michael Eyssimont.
Alex Tuch, an alternate captain for the Blue and Gold, is pleased with how his team has responded in those moments during its 4-4-3 start to the campaign.
"Our team's not gonna back down," Tuch told reporters. "We've shown it all year, we're going to be in it together, and we were. There's no fear, there's no backing off, there's no sitting back. We were going to continue to play right in their face."
Tuch scored the tying goal for Buffalo late in the third period. Rasmus Dahlin, who's struggled through the first 11 games, finally tallied his first goal of the season, while the red-hot Josh Doan also lit the lamp for the Sabres.
Morgan Geekie, David Pastrnak and Mark Kastelic scored in regulation for the B's. Marat Khusnutdinov netted the overtime winner in the home side's 4-3 triumph.
Let's dive into the newest installment of our Sabres player grades series.
Alex Tuch sits atop Buffalo Sabres grade book from Oct. 30 loss to the Boston Bruins
Sabres player grades
Player | Grade (1-10) |
|---|---|
Alex Tuch | 9 |
Josh Doan | 8.5 |
Rasmus Dahlin | 8.5 |
Ryan McLeod | 8 |
Zach Benson | 8 |
Tage Thompson | 7.5 |
Jiri Kulich | 7 |
Bowen Byram | 7 |
Michael Kesselring | 6.5 |
Owen Power | 6.5 |
Jordan Greenway | 6 |
Mattias Samuelsson | 6 |
Josh Dunne | 5.5 |
Conor Timmins | 5.5 |
Jason Zucker | 5 |
Jack Quinn | 5 |
Beck Malenstyn | 4.5 |
Peyton Krebs | 4 |
Alex Lyon | 3 |
Buffalo Player of the Game: Alex Tuch
It's a great sign for the Sabres that Tuch has returned to his usual all-around effectiveness over the past handful of games. The veteran winger was a target for criticism early in the campaign, and much of it was warranted given his lackluster performance.
The 29-year-old winger's ability to impact the game in all three phrases and all three zones makes him stand out among Buffalo players. Zach Benson and Josh Doan are trending in a similar direction, but they aren't there yet. It makes Tuch uniquely important to the club's success.
His contract situation — he's an impending unrestricted free agent — continues to hang over the front office like a dark cloud. It's going to create some serious tension if the NHL trade deadline arrives in March and the Syracuse native still hasn't signed an extension.
For now, however, Tuch is back playing at a high level. The Sabres need Tage Thompson and Rasmus Dahlin to step up in a similar way in the near future.
Sabres quick hits
- Buffalo was the better team for the vast majority of Thursday night's contest, but poor finishing and Alex Lyon's worst outing of the season led to a loss anyway.
- It's a pleasure to watch Doan play hockey. His effort level never drops and he's always attacking the most dangerous areas of the ice, which the Sabres need more of from other players.
- Buffalo needs Dahlin to build off this strong performance in a significant way.
- A solid season debut for Jordan Greenway, though head coach Lindy Ruff probably overused him at even strength.
- Jason Zucker has been super quiet lately.
- Full credit to Krebs for stepping up to fight Eyssimont. His team-first approach is why he continues to stick on the roster despite mediocre results.
- Lyon's first poor outing of the campaign will likely lead to a start for Colten Ellis or Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen in the team's next game.
- The Sabres are back in action Saturday night (7 p.m. ET) when they host Alex Ovechkin, who's sitting on 899 career goals, and the Washington Capitals (6-4-0) at the KeyBank Center.