Sabres hold off Canucks, firmly in reach of playoff position at halfway point of season
Zach Metsa scored the game-winning goal, his first in the NHL, as the Buffalo Sabres beat the Vancouver Canucks, 5-3, to win their 11th game in the last 12.
The final five minutes of the third period of the Buffalo Sabres’ latest win became a prototype of sorts. Or a culmination of everything the Sabres have learned and endured over the first 41 games of the season.
Zach Metsa’s first NHL goal became the game-winner in a 5-3 win against the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday at KeyBank Center. It became the game-winner after Elias Pettersson and Liam Ohlgren scored a pair of goals in a span of 39 seconds for the Canucks, to cut the Sabres’ 4-1 lead to 4-3 with less than five minutes left in the third.
The Sabres quickly called a timeout after Ohgren’s goal, with 4:05 left in regulation, and they hunkered down.
Buffalo Sabres defenseman Zach Metsa (73) celebrates his goal against Vancouver Canucks goaltender
Thatcher Demko (35) in the third period of their game at KeyBank Center on Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026. (Joed Viera/Buffalo News)
“We’ve been in this position a lot of times, already, in one-goal games, either side,” said Alex Tuch, who scored a goal and an assist in the win. “Every time you can pick up any sort of experience, it helps. It helps the group, it helps individuals in just knowing the situation and being comfortable in that situation, especially going down the stretch.”
Once the Sabres returned to the ice, they fell back on what they’ve endured in the first half of the season.
“You never want a team to get some traction and bang some in the net, but it happens,” said defenseman Bo Byram, who had two assists and has nine points (three goals, six assists) in his last seven games. “We did a good job of recovering and finishing them off.”
The win illustrated to Sabres coach Lindy Ruff how his team has evolved in the first 41 games of the season. They endured a spate of injuries that decimated the lineup and are still going through the bite of the injury bug, with goalie Alex Lyon, defenseman Michael Kesselring and defenseman Conor Timmins on injured reserve. There was a stretch from Oct. 25 to Nov. 4 when the Sabres played in five consecutive overtime or shootout games and lost four of them.
Then, there was a run of 10 consecutive wins and 20 points.
“We fought ourselves into a good place at 48 points,” said Ruff, whose team is 22-15-4 and firmly in the mix for a playoff spot as it prepares to play the New York Rangers at 7 p.m. Thursday at Madison Square Garden.
Ruff did some quick math, too.
“I think 48 points, now, in 41 games, that’s usually 96 points,” Ruff said. “If you do that over the next 41 games, it will get you into the playoffs.”
Compare the Sabres’ statistics from the first 29 games to those in the 10-game win streak from Dec. 9-31. They averaged 3.5 goals per game in those 10 games, up from 2.97 in their first 29 games. They allowed 1.8 goals against in the 10-game winning streak, down from 3.55 goals allowed per game in the first 29 games.
They minimized shots, averaging 27.5 per game as opposed to 29 in their first 29 games. They allowed fewer shots per game (27) than they did in the first 29 games (29.9). They won more faceoffs (45.7%, up from 44%), which meant more possession with the puck.
But to get to the playoffs? 41 games and more than three months remain on the schedule, and a lot can unfold in that time. Few of the Sabres are willing to put the proverbial cart before the horse, even with the fact they have won 11 of their last 12 games.
“It’s been pretty good,” Tuch said of his team’s progression over the first half of the season. “Not good enough, though. I like our last 12 or so games. We’re just going to keep feeding on that. We’re going to take this day by day. Now, we’re worried about the Rangers (on Thursday.) We’re worried about practice (Wednesday) and going to New York and playing a team that’s playing pretty well, right now, so we have to be on our A-game.
“Just good. Not good enough. We’re going to continue to get better every day.”
Here’s a first
Metsa scored his first NHL goal at 6:13 of the third, when he beat Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko (15 saves) on a wrist shot from the bottom of the right circle, off a pass from Beck Malenstyn, and gave the Sabres a 4-1 lead.The Sabres have recalled Metsa from Rochester of the American Hockey League three times this season – on Oct. 16, Nov. 17 and Dec. 7 and has played in the last eight games with the Sabres.
“I think I’ve just gotten more confidence in myself and in my game here, not feeling like I have to change too much,” Metsa said.
Metsa, Tuch said, has capitalized on a scenario that isn’t easy: Bouncing up and down between the NHL and AHL.
“There’s a reason why he was captain in Rochester, and coming up,” Tuch said. “He comes up here and he does his job really well. It’s not an easy situation, and he’s been playing some really big minutes for us and it’s been great to see. You saw the bench, we were all so pumped for him.”
Tuch also offered something you may not know about Metsa.
“Huge biceps, too, by the way,” Tuch quipped.
Going short, going long
Ryan McLeod became an unsung yet productive factor in the win against the Canucks.McLeod scored his third shorthanded goal of the season at 11:24 of the first, with Byram penalized for interference. McLeod completed a 2-on-1 off a pass from Tuch, who started the play by nabbing a turnover off the Canucks, and beat Demko to give the Sabres a 2-0 lead.
McLeod scored the team's first shorthanded goal since Nov. 15; he scored a shorthanded goal in a 5-4 overtime win at Detroit and is one of four players tied for second in the NHL with three shorthanded goals this season. McLeod also won 10 faceoffs and lost seven against the Canucks.