The Buffalo Sabres’ winning streak looked like it might be in danger.

Playing on the road against the Dallas Stars, owners of the second-best record in the NHL, in front of a rowdy New Year’s Eve crowd, the Sabres fell behind 1-0 just 15 seconds into the game. Rasmus Dahlin and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen weren’t on the same page playing a puck behind the net, and Mavrik Bourque whacked a rebound in with Dahlin as the closest Sabre in coverage.

Even a month ago, a goal like that might have caused the Sabres to wilt. The Stars had their building rocking, but the Sabres were never on their heels. Instead, they pushed right back, outplaying the Stars the rest of the period. Buffalo went to the first intermission down 1-0 but had a 17-6 advantage in scoring chances and a 10-2 advantage in high-danger chances.

The Sabres started converting those chances in the second and third periods, scoring twice in each to extend their winning streak to 10 games with a 4-1 win over the Stars on Wednesday night.

“That’s just another step in the right direction for our team,” Bowen Byram told reporters. “There’s been instances where stuff like that happens in a game early, and we fall behind and can never claw our way out of it. But we just have a lot of confidence right now, no matter what the score is, if we just keep playing the same way.”

In the second period, Tage Thompson used his size and skill to hang onto a puck down low before setting up a Josh Doan one-timer for the score-tying goal.

Then, with just a few minutes left in the second period, Noah Östlund, who had two assists in this game, slid a pass through the neutral zone to Byram, who ripped a perfect shot off the rush to give the Sabres a 2-1 lead. And as they’ve done often during this streak, the Sabres played a relentless defensive game with the lead.

Beck's postgame vibes at an all-time HIGH! 📈 pic.twitter.com/hLMVCsfP8g

— Buffalo Sabres (@BuffaloSabres) January 1, 2026

The Stars had just seven shots in the third period, and that allowed Thompson to be the closer for the Sabres. After controlling play throughout the game, Thompson finally got rewarded with a goal right at the front of the net after an imposing shift. Then, a few minutes later, he scored on a textbook wrist shot from the slot. Thompson’s two goals in 2:14 of game action gave the Sabres a commanding three-goal lead.

On a day when ESPN’s Emily Kaplan reported that Thompson made Team USA’s Olympic squad, he played one of his most dominant games of the season. In the first period, he had six shot attempts and three individual scoring chances. He finished with 11 shot attempts, two goals and an assist. When Thompson was on the ice at five-on-five, the Sabres had a 14-7 advantage in scoring chances. After the game, Lindy Ruff boiled Thompson’s game down to three words.