Konsta Helenius, Alex Lyon are the big performers as Sabres hit the right notes in Music City
Konsta Helenius on his first NHL goal: "I mean, it's a dream. You always dream about scoring a goal in the NHL and now it happens. It's a really good
It nearly evaporated in the chaos of a harried final 30 minutes, but the Buffalo Sabres' 5-3 win Tuesday over the Nashville Predators will be neatly filed away as the night of Konsta Helenius' first signature moments in the NHL.
The Sabres nabbed Helenius with their first-round pick at No. 14 overall in the 2024 draft in Las Vegas. And shortly after the pick was made, phones of Buffalo reporters started buzzing from other teams' scouts and draftniks in the media. "Absurd steal at 14" was the words of one of them used that night.
We're learning why. Helenius is still only 19 years old and is already an AHL All-Star in Rochester this year. Getting a chance with Josh Norris out of the lineup, Helenius made his NHL debut Monday in Carolina and had his stamps all over Game 2 of his career Tuesday in Bridgestone Arena.
Buffalo Sabres center Konsta Helenius (94) looks on from the bench against the Columbus Blue
Jackets during the first period at KeyBank Center on Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2025. Harry Scull/Buffalo News
In the first period, he assisted on a pair of Noah Ostlund goals and notched his first NHL tally as the Sabres led, 3-0, after 20 minutes. They pushed the margin to 4-0 on a Tage Thompson goal but watched as Nashville got within 4-3 midway through the third until Peyton Krebs put it away on an empty-net goal.
Coach Lindy Ruff put together a kid line and it was sensational. Ostlund, Buffalo's second first-round pick in 2022, was the veteran of the line at 21 years old. Zach Benson, 20, was taken in 2023 and then came Helenius. The line had 59% percent of the shot attempts, 67% of the shots and 89% of the expected goals when it was on the ice.
"We tried to play a quick game, hang on to pucks, play with speed," Ostlund said.
"I played with Ostlund and he's a smart guy, the same as 'Benny'. Smart guy too," Helenius said. "It's easy to play with them. We're young guys so we have energy."
Helenius had four shots on goal in the game, one off Jack Quinn's team high, and was strong on pucks along the wall in the offensive zone.
Ostlund scored the game's first two goals to push his rookie-season total to nine and Helenius assisted on both to crack an NHL scoresheet for the first time.
Helenius' big moment came at 17:24, when he unleased a snapshot over the glove of Nashville goalie and fellow Finn Juuse Saros' off a Peyton Krebs feed.
"It was wide open at the middle so I just called for the puck. Good pass from 'Krebsy,'" Helenius said. "I decided I wanted to get it high and it went in."
Helenius said his parents had already texted him from Finland about the goal, so they were watching in the middle of the night. He said his mother got his first AHL goal puck from Rochester and was probably getting this one too.
"I mean, it's a dream. You always dream about scoring a goal in the NHL and now it happens," Helenius said. "It's a really good feeling."
The 19-year-old, who was Buffalo's first-round pick in 2024, has nine goals and 21 assists in Rochester this season. His wrist shot is lethal.
"He walked right down the pipe there," Ruff said of Helenius' goal. "There's not many guys who can score that goal but he proved it's one of his weapons for sure."
"It's a really good weapon. It's a helluva wrist shot and he uses it a lot too," Ostlund said. "That's good for him. When you get a good role, he can play everywhere. He's a good skater and really good two-way player."
Lyon is king in return
The Sabres got a tremendous game in goal from Alex Lyon, who made 31 saves to win his eighth straight decision in his return from 10 games out of the lineup due a lower-body injury. Lyon battled hard through the second-period chaos and again in the third to keep Buffalo in front."A couple net-front scrambles, a couple times they walked right in and we got some glove saves," Ruff said. "He was big for us when we needed him."
"I've been in this building a lot before and when those guys turn it on and get going, it's always a sight to behold," Lyon said of the veteran Predators, who got two goals from former Sabres center Ryan O'Reilly. "They certainly turned on the afterburners tonight. ... I know what kind of guys they have over there. They're warriors and they found a way to dig in."
Lyon got a big assist late in the second from defenseman Zach Metsa, who scooped a puck off the goal line after it popped in the air with the Preds down, 4-2, and pushing to get the score within one.
"That kind of desperation is what wins and loses games in this league, those tiny margins," Lyon said. "It hit my blocker and it was like slow motion over my shoulder."
In the standings
The win pushed the Sabres' record to 27-17-5. It ended their two-game winless streak and gave them a record of 16-3-1 in a remarkable 20-game stretch that started Dec. 9. The Sabres lead the NHL in wins and points (33) since that date and are second in points percentage (.842).Buffalo moved back into the No. 1 wild card slot in the East after Boston lost Tuesday at Dallas, 6-2,. Both teams play again on Thursday, with the Sabres at Montreal and the Bruins hosting Vegas. The Canadiens lead Buffalo by four points in the race for third place in the Atlantic Division but Buffalo has a game in hand.