Sabres’ Alex Tuch drops ‘confidence’ truth bomb after 5th straight win

Buffalo Sabres forward Alex Tuch had a big night, scoring a hat trick to lead the team to a 4-1 win over the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday. The victory was Buffalo’s fifth straight win.

Tuch scored his fourth career hat trick, raising his season total to 22 goals and leading the Sabres’ surge. On the other hand, Alex Lyon stopped a season-high 37 shots to earn his 10th straight win, breaking the franchise record set by Gerry Desjardins in 1976.

Tuch hit the 20-goal mark for the fourth straight season and fifth time overall, while Mattias Samuelsson also scored as the Sabres notched their 20th win in 24 games.

After carrying the team with another dominant performance, Tuch spoke about the belief driving the Sabres’ surge.

“We’re coming in with a lot of confidence,” said Tuch following a question from Buffalo News writer Mike Harrington. “Everybody’s coming in trying to prove themselves and we’re trying to prove as a team that we’re legit. We’re not just going to go for the playoffs. We’re going to go for the (Stanley) Cup and that’s our goal to get better each and every day.”

I am not here all the time so I won't pretend to know everything the team has been saying.

But in my time covering Buffalo sports, I don't know if I've ever heard this type of answer come from the Sabres locker room.

Hell of an answer to a great question from @ByMHarrington. pic.twitter.com/aVZuEKd6Ee

— Matthew Bové (@Matt_Bove) January 30, 2026

The 29-year-old’s night began with some puck luck on the power play when his pass bounced off Cody Ceci into the net. He added a second by deflecting a Bowen Byram shot past Darcy Kuemper for a 3-0 lead, then finished with an empty-net goal like Thompson and Dahlin to seal the Sabres’ win.

Meanwhile, Buffalo went on a 10-game winning streak from December to early January, putting them in playoff contention after a rough start to the season.

The Sabres last reached the playoffs in 2010-11, falling to the Flyers in seven games. They have the longest playoff drought in the NHL, but this year feels different.

Buffalo has never won a Stanley Cup but reached the final twice, losing to the Flyers in 1974-75 and the Stars in 1999.

That being said, the Sabres will aim to keep their winning streak alive and continue their push toward their first Stanley Cup. They currently sit at 31-17-5 and will host the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday.

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