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Game 46 Preview & Open Thread: Sabres vs. Kraken

Jan 11, 2025; Buffalo, New York, USA; Buffalo Sabres left wing Zach Benson (9) and Seattle Kraken defenseman Ryker Evans (41) go after a loose puck during the second period at KeyBank Center. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images

Game #46

Buffalo Sabres (14-21-5) at Seattle Kraken (26-10-3)

Puck Drop: 4:00 PM ET | Climate Pledge Arena, Seattle, WA

TV: MSG-B, ESPN+

Know Your Opponent

Seattle Kraken

Record: 20-24-3 | 43 PTS

Last Game: 4-2 win over the Kings

Division Ranking: 6th, Pacific

PP: 25th, 18.2% (24/132 opps) [Sabres: 27th, 17.7% (23/130 opps)]

PK: 23rd, 76.6% (102/107 killed) [Sabres: 22nd, 77.3% (109/141 killed)]

What to Watch

1. Stand up and be counted

Last week was humiliating. At least, the Sabres should be feeling that way. And in a season where the locker room has been crying out for leaders to step up and drag the team up the standings, there have been none. Maybe a couple of folks have at times, but not enough.

Out on the West Coast, away from the pressures at home, will we see some sort of unified response? The first period this afternoon will be telling I feel.

Losing Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen [DTD] and Ryan McLeod [IR] will hurt. Was so pumped for McLeod after that hattie last week.

2. Fear of the depths

What is it with us and expansion franchises? Feels like we’ve just been terrible whenever we play against these new teams, like the Vegas Golden Knights are a genuinely well-built team, but getting smacked around by the Kraken and Utah Hockey Club is just straight up insulting.

I had to look it up, but Seattle are 6-1-0 against the Sabres. They are a mediocre team, and to be honest, so are we. We can’t aspire to greatness when we can’t even beat teams around us in the standings.

Also, their special teams are about on par with ours. One way of getting a win today would be to beat them in that department.

3. Trade deadline looms

General Manager Kevyn Adams is going to have a pretty good idea exactly a week from now how he is going to be spending the next few weeks, and then how the summer ahead is going to go.

Once we are done with the four-game West Coast swing, we’ll either be even more firmly entrenched in the Eastern Conference basement, or there’ll be one of those ‘Undertaker rising from his coffin’ moments. Odds are it won’t be the latter, but who knows what kind of team bonding and inspirational moments can sometimes be fanned from the embers of a road trip.

Projected Lineups

Buffalo Sabres

Forwards

Jason Zucker – Tage Thompson – Alex Tuch
JJ Peterka – Dylan Cozens – Jack Quinn
Zach Benson – Peyton Krebs – Sam Lafferty
Beck Malenstyn – Tyler Kozak – Nicolas Aube-Kubel

Defense

Rasmus Dahlin – Bowen Byram
Owen Power – Henri Jokiharju
Mattias Samuelsson – Connor Clifton

Goalies: Devon Levi (projected starter), James Reimer

Seattle Kraken

Forwards

Jaden Schwartz – Matty Beniers – Kaapo Kakko
Andre Burakovsky – Chandler Stephenson – Oliver Bjorkstrand
Jared McCann – Shane Wright – Eeli Tolvanen
Brandon Tanev – Mitchell Stephens – John Hayden

Defense

Vince Dunn – Adam Larsson
Ryker Evans – Brandon Montour
Jamie Oleksiak – Josh Mahura

Goalies:

Joey Daccord (projected starter), Philipp Grubauer

Talking Points