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Game #52 Preview & Open Thread: Sabres vs. Devils

Dec 15, 2024; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Buffalo Sabres left wing Beck Malenstyn (29) skates during the warmup before game against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images

Buffalo Sabres (20-26-5) vs. New Jersey Devils (29-18-6)

Puck Drop: 1:00 PM EST | KeyBank Center | Buffalo, NY

TV: MSG

Know Your Opponent

New Jersey Devils

Record: 29-18-6 | 64 PTS

Last Game: 5-0 win over Philadelphia Flyers

Division Ranking: 3rd in Metropolitan

PP: 28.9% (Sabres: 16.8%)

PK: 82.6% (Sabres: 77.8%)


What to Watch

1. Stay Out of the Box

The New Jersey Devils have the second-best power play in the league right now, only bested by the Winnipeg Jets. Stefan Noesen leads the team with nine power-play goals, while Dougie Hamilton and Jack Hughes each have five. (Nico Hischier, who also has nine, is out.) Hughes has a whopping 26 points on the power play. They’re a dangerous team with the advantage, so the Sabres need to stay out of the penalty box this afternoon to best position themselves for success.

2. Goaltending

Jake Allen will get the start this afternoon for the Devils, appearing in his 18th game of the season. He’s 8-9-1 with a .908 save percentage and 2.55 GAA. With Jacob Markstrom set to miss the next 4-6 weeks with a sprained MCL in his knee, it’s Allen’s net so long as he can manage. The Devils recalled Isaac Poulter from the AHL to back-up, flip-flopping the netminder with Nico Daws. Poulter has yet to make his NHL debut. Just kidding, they actually sent Poulter back and brought Daws up again.

3. All Cool for Kulich

How good has Jiri Kulich been lately? Heading into today’s game, Kulich has seven points in his last five games and is on a three-game point streak. He nearly recorded a hat trick the other night, the first opportunity his parents have had to see him play in the NHL live. He’s fitting nicely into this lineup and looks every bit the part of an NHLer recently.


Projected Lineups

Buffalo Sabres

Forwards

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

Defense

Bowen Byram – Rasmus Dahlin
Mattias Samuelsson – Owen Power
Jacob Bryson – Henri Jokiharju

Goalies: Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, James Reimer

New Jersey Devils

Forwards

Ondrej Palat – Jack Hughes – Jesper Bratt
Timo Meier – Dawson Mercer – Stefan Noesen
Paul Cotter – Justin Dowling – Tomas Tatar
Kurtis Macdermid – Curtis Lazar – Nathan Bastian

Defense

Jonas Siegenthaler – Dougie Hamilton
Luke Hughes – Johnathan Kovacevic
Brenden Dillon – Brett Pesce

Goalies: Jake Allen, Nico Daws

Talking Points