After a good start to the game for the Sabres with a 1st career NHL goal for Jacob Bryson, the Islanders stuck to their gameplan and eventually pulled away after 4 unanswered, 2nd-period goals. They take the 2nd of the three-game stint and their second 5-2 victory against Buffalo in a row.
| Per. | Time | EV | Goal | Assist | Assist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0:33 |  Jacob Bryson (1) | Brandon Montour (4) | Jack Eichel (15) | |
| 2 | 3:51 |  Mat Barzal (9) | Jordan Eberle (6) | Scott Mayfield (5) | |
| 2 | 5:16 | Brock Nelson (7) | Anthony Beauvillier (4) | Ryan Pulock (9) | |
| 2 | 8:45 | Cal Clutterbuck (2) | Matt Martin (3) | Adam Pelech (5) | |
| 2 | 15:29 | Scott Mayfield (2) | Casey Cizikas (6) | J.G. Pageau (6) | |
| 3 | 0:52 | Sam Reinhart (9) | Rasmus Dahlin (9) | Victor Olofsson (10) | |
| 3 | 2:15 | Anders Lee (11) | Noah Dobson (8) | Mat Barzal (13) |
As previously mentioned, 23-year-old Jacob Bryson scored his very 1st NHL goal just 33 seconds into the game, and it was a beauty as he found the inside of the far post behind goaltender Semyon Varlamov and made it 1-0 Buffalo.
First career @NHL goal for our guy @jbryson_18 🙌#LetsGoBuffalo pic.twitter.com/xWCpNAt8NF
— Buffalo Sabres (@BuffaloSabres) March 6, 2021
Bryson on goal: "It was so exciting, been waiting for that for a long time…Cozens had a good screen at the net, it was a great feeling…" #Sabres
— Brian Koziol (@BrianWGR) March 6, 2021
After a good 1st period for the Sabres, the Islanders found their groove in the 2nd period while scoring 4 unanswered. Even though Buffalo looked terrible in the middle frame, Mathew Barzal scored a goal-of-the-year candidate that was very special, regardless of you were rooting for.
This isn't even fair, Mat Barzal (@Barzal_97). WHAT THE HECK. pic.twitter.com/4hypBstME6
— NHL (@NHL) March 6, 2021
“That’s not an easy fix, for sure.” — Ralph Krueger on the Sabres’ tendency to respond poorly to adversity.
— Lance Lysowski (@LLysowski) March 6, 2021
Sam Reinhart had the only other goal for Buffalo as he once again redirected a shot from the point from Rasmus Dahlin and put the Sabres within 2 goals. The Islanders responded quickly however with a goal by captain Anders Lee just over a minute after Reinhart’s tally. This goal would put them up 5-2 and that was the final score.
Carter Hutton lost the goalie battle once again as he only saved 24 of 29 shots and finished with an abysmal .828 save percentage. Semyon Varlamov didn’t have to do much as the Sabres only had 22 shots on net.
These teams will meet once again tomorrow at 12:00 pm and can be seen on NBC. Buffalo is in last place and has now lost 6 games in a row and now sit at a 6-13-3 record.