Game #40
Buffalo Sabres (16-19-4) vs. Pittsburgh Penguins (19-14-4)
Puck Drop: 7:00 PM EST | PPG Paints Arena | Pittsburgh, PA
TV: MSG-B
Radio: WGR 550
Know Your Opponent
Pittsburgh Penguins
Record: 19-14-4 | 42 PTS
Last Game: 6-5 Win vs. Boston Bruins
Division Ranking: 7th in Metropolitan Division
PP: 26th (14.4%)
PK: 10th (82.6%)
What to Watch
1. Big Wins
Both the Pens and the Sabres are coming off of big wins this week – Pittsburgh against the elite Bruins and Buffalo against the Habs. Even though the Penguins are 7th in their division, do not let that fool you. They have a winning record and, as evidenced above, are very capable of winning against tough opponents. Since December 12th, Pittsburgh has had the most wins with eight as well as points accumulated with 17. They are also 7-2-1 in their last 10 and have won four out of their last five, tallying an impressive 23 goals in that span. Unlike the Sabres, they also win at home and currently hold a record of 10-7-1.
Buffalo should be prepared to really bring on their offense if they want to compete with forwards like Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Jake Guentzel. And, there are at least two forwards the Sabres have been able to count on as of late: Jeff Skinner and Jack Quinn. Skinner currently has the most goals on the team with 16 and is on pace to earn at least 35 on the season. In his last six games, Skinner has racked up nine points. He will definitely be one to watch tonight to try to get the offense going. Quinn deserves some credit, too, for his offensive contributions since returning from his Achilles injury. He has five points in his last six games and was incredibly fun to watch on Thursday against the Canadiens. His presence on the ice was clearly missed during that long absence.
Tonight also marks the third and final matchup between these two. Previous games were split back in November, so the winner tonight will take the series.
2. Buffalo and Pittsburgh, Your Power Plays…Woof.
There’s good news and bad news. The good news is that the Sabres went two-for-four on the power play against the Canadiens on Thursday night. The bad news is they are still doing poorly overall as they sit 27th in the league in that category. However, here is more good news: the Pens are not much better. One roadblock tonight, though, may be Pittsburgh’s penalty kill, which is pretty darn good. It will be interesting to see if the Sabres’ special teams can keep trending in the right direction or if they will continue to fall apart with the “leadership” of Matt Ellis.
3. Go For Two
Buffalo fans are frustrated for many reasons this season, but I would bet the biggest one may be their favorite hockey team’s inability to string together two wins in a row. This has become one of the many unbelievable disappointments this season. It is so bad, in fact, that the last time the Sabres won two games in a row was at the end of October when they were victorious against the Avalanche followed by the Flyers, racking up a total of nine goals in those two contests. Will 2024 be different? Let’s hope so.
Projected Lineups
Buffalo Sabres
Forwards
Jeff Skinner – Tage Thompson – Alex Tuch*
Jack Quinn – Dylan Cozens – JJ Peterka
Jordan Greenway* – Casey Mittelstadt – Zach Benson
Zemgus Girgensons – Peyton Krebs – Victor Olofsson
*Tuch and Greenway have been battling illnesses this week, but are still expected to play tonight according to head coach Don Granato.
Defense
Rasmus Dahlin – Henri Jokharju
Mattias Samuelsson – Connor Clifton
Owen Power – Erik Johnson
Goaltenders: Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (confirmed), Devon Levi
Pittsburgh Penguins
Forwards
Jake Guentzel – Sidney Crosby – Rickard Rakell
Reilly Smith – Evgeni Malkin – Bryan Rust
Drew O’Connor – Lars Eller – Valtteri Puustinen
Jansen Harkins – Noel Acciari – Jeff Carter
Defense
Marcus Pettersson – Kris Letang
Pierre-Olivier Joseph – Erik Karlsson
Ryan Graves – Chad Ruhwedel
Goaltenders: Tristan Jarry (confirmed), Alex Nedeljkovic