Buffalo Sabres (12-19-4) vs. Chicago Blackhawks (12-21-2)

Puck Drop: 7:00 PM EST | KeyBank Center | Buffalo, NY

TV: ESPN2

Know Your Opponent

Chicago Blackhawks

Record: 12-21-2 | 26 PTS

Last Game: 4-3 loss to Minnesota (Dec. 23)

Division Ranking: 8th in Central

PP: 22.5% (Sabres: 14.7%)

PK: 85.3% (Sabres: 77.0%)

What to Watch

1. A Battle of Struggles

Man, I’m sure ESPN2 is super excited to have the 30th-place Buffalo Sabres host the 32nd-place Chicago Blackhawks on a national Friday night broadcast! The worst team in the Western Conference comes into town looking to avoid a three-game losing streak. Chicago most recently lost 6-4 in Calgary, then 4-3 in Minnesota before the holiday break. But, prior to those two losses, they’d won three straight. Overall, the Blackhawks are 4-6-0 in their last 10 games, but have struggled on the road all season long, at 5-13-2.

Earlier this month, on December 5, the Blackhawks relieved Luke Richardson of his duties as head coach, naming Anders Sorensen (from AHL Rockford) as his interim replacement.

The Sabres are coming off a big win, both literally and figuratively – a decisive 7-1 victory over the Islanders on Monday. Tonight’s game marks the final home game of the year for the Sabres, who won’t play back in Buffalo again until January 6. The Sabres, of course, recently broke their 13-game winless streak and are 1-7-2 in their last 10 games. They’re also 6-10-3 at home this season, so KeyBank Center hasn’t exactly provided much of a home advantage.

2. Hello, Again.

Tonight’s matchup is the second and final meeting of the season between the Sabres and Blackhawks. Buffalo won 4-2 in Chicago back on October 19, powered by goals from Tage Thompson, Beck Malenstyn, JJ Peterka and Ryan McLeod. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 35 saves. Craig Smith had both goals for Chicago , while Arvid Söderblom stopped 18 of 21 shots.

The Blackhawks are led by Connor Bedard (… obviously), who has 30 points in 35 games thsi season. His 21 assists are most among the team, while Ryan Donato leads the squad with 11 goals. Bedard also has three game-winning goals this season.

Our old friend Taylor Hall has seven goals and 11 assists for 18 points in 34 games.

3. Black & Red

It’s another Friday night black & red goathead game, as the Sabres don these special jerseys for tonight’s tilt. Whether or not it actually makes a difference in the team’s play on the ice, it’s a beautiful sight, that’s for darn sure.

Projected Lineups

Buffalo Sabres

Forwards

Jason Zucker – Tage Thompson – Alex Tuch
JJ Peterka – Dylan Cozens – Jack Quinn
Zach Benson – Jiri Kulich – Peyton Krebs
Beck Malenstyn – Ryan McLeod – Sam Lafferty

Defense

Rasmus Dahlin – Bowen Byram
Mattias Samuelsson – Owen Power
Jacob Bryson – Connor Clifton

Goalies: Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, James Reimer

Chicago Blackhawks

Forwards

Taylor Hall – Connor Bedard – Tyler Bertuzzi
Nick Foligno – Frank Nazar – Ryan Donato
Teuvo Teravainen – Jason Dickinson – Ilya Mikheyev
Pat Maroon – Lukas Reichel – Joey Anderson

Defense

Alex Vlasic – Connor Murphy
Nolan Allan – Seth Jones
Kevin Korchinski – T.J. Brodie

Goalies: Petr Mrazek, Arvid Söderblom