Colorado Avalanche (13-12-0) vs. Buffalo Sabres (11-11-2)
Puck Drop: 7:00 PM EST | KeyBank Center | Buffalo, NY
TV: MSG-B
Radio: WGR 550
Know Your Opponent
Colorado Avalanche
Record: 13-12-0 | 26 PTS
Last Game: 4-1 Loss vs. Edmonton Oilers
Division Ranking: 4th in Central Division
PP: 6th (27.2%)
PK: 29th (71.9%)
What to Watch
1. Sick Mitts’ Return
After being drafted by and playing in Buffalo for several years, forward Casey Mittelstadt was traded to Colorado back in March in exchange for defenseman Bowen Byram. Since then – in 43 games for the Avalanche – Mitts has contributed 11 goals and 28 points. This may not seem overly impressive, but he is already on track to perform better for his new team. To put it into perspective, the most Mittelstadt ever scored in a single season with Buffalo was 15 goals during his only full season (he is historically injury-prone as fans may recall). Since these two teams have not faced each other in nearly a full year, this will be Mitts’ first game back at KeyBank Center since the trade and Byram’s first facing his former teammates as well. It will be interesting to see if Mittelstadt cranks up the offense a bit extra tonight.
2. Oh Captain, Their Captain
Fans of hockey may have noticed that a key player has been missing from the Avs roster for quite some time – their talented captain Gabriel Landeskog. The winger has not played an NHL game since lifting the Stanley Cup in 2022 and subsequently undergoing complicated knee surgeries. His recovery timeline is still unknown and, in his absence, alternate captain Mikko Rantanen has stepped up offensively. The Finnish forward was just named NHL’s 2nd Star of the Month for November after scoring 11 goals and his second hat trick of the season during that time. Rantanen also managed six(!) multi-point games during November, so it is safe to say that the Sabres will really need to keep an eye on him in their zone.
Incidentally, the Sabres have been slipping with their power play (and scoring in general, to be honest, as they have been shut out in two of their last three games). Seeing as The Avs are not great on their penalty kill, it is time yet again to get the man advantage back on track. Buffalo is 0-for-13 in their last five games and, unfortunately, a few of these power plays did not yield even a single shot on net. As their frustration mounts, so does the fans’. Tonight marks a season-long homestand with five important must-win games to bring some excitement back to the fans.
3. Sabres Hot Players
Alex Tuch continues to shine as he leads his club with 22 points on the season so far. He has an impressive 10 points in his last nine games as well, so he will likely contribute offensively tonight. Is he not so fun to watch?
Additionally, captain Rasmus Dahlin could shine tonight as well, though in a different way. He is one goal away from tying Sabres alum Mike Ramsey for second on the all-time defensemen list for Buffalo. Will he tie or even surpass Ramsey tonight?
Projected Lineups
Buffalo Sabres
Forwards
Jason Zucker – Tage Thompson – Alex Tuch
Zach Benson – Dylan Cozens – JJ Peterka
Jiri Kulich – Ryan McLeod – Jack Quinn
Beck Malenstyn – Peyton Kreba – Nicholas Aube-Kubel/Tyson Kozak*
*Sam Lafferty is week-to-week with a lower-body injury and out of the lineup tonight. Kozak was recently called up from Rochester but is not slated to see ice time tonight.
Defense
Bowen Byram – Rasmus Dahlin
Owen Power – Henri Jokiharju
Jacob Bryson – Connor Clifton
Goaltenders: Ukka-Pekka Luukkonen (expected), James Reimer
Colorado Avalanche
Forwards
Artturi Lehkonen – Nathan MacKinnon – Mikko Rantanen
Nikolai Kovalenko – Casey Mittelstadt – Valeri Nichushkin
Joel Kiviranta – Ivan Ivan – Logan O’Connor
Chase Bradley – Parker Kelly – Chris Wagner
Defense
Devon Toews – Cale Makar
Samuel Girard – Sam Malinski
Oliver Kylington* – John Ludvig
*Kylington is day-to-day with an upper-body injury.
Goaltenders: Alexandar Georgiev, Scott Wedgewood (expected)