Game 61
Buffalo Sabres (31-25-4) vs. Tampa Bay Lightning (37-19-5)
Puck Drop: 12:30 PM | KeyBank Center | Buffalo, NY
TV: MSG-B
Radio: WGR 550
SB Nation Lightning Blog: Raw Charge
Know Your Opponent
Tampa Bay Lightning
Record: 37-19-5 | 79 PTS
Last Game: OT Loss to Pittsburgh (5-4)
Last 10: 4-3-3
Division Ranking: 3rd in Atlantic Division
PP: 2nd (25.9%)
PK: 10th (81.9%)
What to Watch For
1. Home Ice Struggles
On one hand, the Sabres have not fared well at KeyBank Center this season. They’ve done better on the road – 19-9-2 compared to 12-16-2. On the other hand, today is a Kids’ Day game featuring the red & black goathead jerseys, which they seem to play better in. There’s just something about donning that jersey that fires them up and makes them work. While they’re not undefeated in the goatheads, they do have a mysterious track record of scoring 6+ goals while wearing them. Let’s see if that trend continues this afternoon.
Following today, the Sabres will don the red & black goatheads three more times this season: March 11, March 24 and April 13.
When history merges with the present…
Black and red is BACK. 😤 pic.twitter.com/UigL992Ylv
— Buffalo Sabres (@BuffaloSabres) November 7, 2022
2. Another Tough Opponent
Today’s game against the Lightning is actually a rescheduled matchup from late-December, while the Sabres/Flyers game that was originally supposed to be today was played back in early January instead. (That’s why you may see Philly on some of the schedules, including the printed Sabres charity dog calendar.)
The Lightning are another tough opponent for Buffalo, sitting third in the division. The good news, perhaps, is that Tampa actually comes into Saturday’s game on a three-game losing skid of their own. We’ve already seen that the Lightning are not invincible, considering the Sabres beat them 6-5 in overtime back on February 23. Now, it’s time for Buffalo to right the ship and capitalize.
Projected Lineups
Buffalo Sabres
Forwards
Jeff Skinner – Tage Thompson – Jack Quinn
Casey Mittelstadt – Dylan Cozens – Vinnie Hinostroza
JJ Peterka – Peyton Krebs – Victor Olofsson
Zemgus Girgensons – Tyson Jost – Kyle Okposo
Defense*
Owen Power – Henri Jokiharju
Mattias Samuelsson – Ilya Lyubushkin
Jacob Bryson – Kale Clague
Goaltenders: Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Craig Anderson, Eric Comrie
*Rasmus Dahlin is still considered day-to-day with a lower-body injury. With no morning skate, we’ll see if he perhaps come back on Saturday. Alex Tuch is week-to-week.
Tampa Bay Lightning
Forwards*
Brandon Hagel – Brayden Point – Nikita Kucherov
Steven Stamkos – Anthony Cirelli – Alex Killorn
Ross Colton – Nick Paul – Tanner Jeannot
Patrick Maroon – Pierre-Edouard Bellemare – Corey Perry
Defense
Victor Hedman – Erik Cernak
Mikhail Sergachev – Nicklaus Perbix
Ian Cole – Darren Raddysh
Goaltenders: Andrei Vasilevskiy, Brian Elliott