Game #53
Buffalo Sabres (23-25-4) vs. Florida Panthers (34-15-4)
Puck Drop: 7:00 PM EST, KeyBank Center, Buffalo NY
TV: ESPN+
Radio: WGR-550
Know Your Opponent
Florida Panthers
Record: 34-15-4
Last Game: 5-3 win against Pittsburgh Penguins
Division Ranking: 2nd in the Atlantic Division
PP Ranking: 6th (25.1%)
PK Ranking: 6th (83.1%)
What to Watch
1) Who Are We?
Who are the Buffalo Sabres?
The Sabres in the top 10 in 5v5 scoring with a positive goal differential.
So are we a good team?
The Sabres are 14th in the Eastern Conference and ten points out of the second wildcard spot.
So are we a bad team?
The truth is a bit more nuanced, and it’s a bit of both. Once the Sabres got out of their own way and started to play a simpler version of hockey (like they did last season), they became better both offensively and defensively.
However, a number of injuries to key players caused the team to struggle. That wasn’t the sole issue though, and the real dagger in the season has been an abjectly poor power play. Even a halfway decent power play unit would have gotten Buffalo a lot closer to performing like a playoff contender.
In comments earlier this week General Manager Kevin Adams talked about the rest of the season being ‘auditions for the next season’. This acknowledgement that this season is all but done, but is also a good chance to look ahead and see what we could look like next season, and also where the gaps in the roster are.
2) Red Hot Panthers
Tonight’s visitors are on a fiery streak. Florida has three wins on the trot, going 7-2-1 in their last ten games. They’re hunting down perennial Division winners Boston and that should tell you how determined Sam Reinhart and his new gang are to upstage the big bad B’s.
They’ve managed to do this on the back of solid 5v5 hockey, and 6th placed power play and penalty kill units. If there are any flaws in this Panthers side, then they’re certainly not obvious. If Buffalo can play quick and get vertical against them early on, they might be able to take advantage of a side on the second night of a back-to-back.
Backup goalie Anthony Stolarz likely gets the call tonight, but despite his 8-5-2 record, his .917 save percentage and 2.11 GAA handily beats starter Sergei Bobrovsky, so don’t expect any gimmes for the Sabres there.
3) Riding The 6K Train
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen has been spectacular at times, and solid when he’s not, especially since the calendar ticked over into 2024. It’s a shame that the Sabres haven’t been able to ride his performances to a lot more wins, going 5-5 in the games he’s started in that span. When the Sabres haven’t even been able to get to overtime in a two games where he’s let in just one and two goals respectively, it’s hard to fault the young Finn.
The Sabres will be looking to see if UPL can sustain this level of performance for the remainder of the season, as that will be the best determinant for Adams on what level of goalie he will need to back him up in net next season, and how much to invest in the defensive corps in front of him, in the offseason.
Projected Lineups
Buffalo Sabres
Forwards
Jeff Skinner – Tage Thompson – Kyle Okposo
Zach Benson – Dylan Cozens – JJ Peterka
Jordan Greenway – Casey Mittelstadt – Alex Tuch
Zemgus Girgensons – Peyton Krebs – Victor Olofsson
Defense
Rasmus Dahlin – Henri Jokiharju
Jacob Bryson – Connor Clifton
Ryan Johnson – Erik Johnson
Goaltenders
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (likely starter), Eric Comrie
Florida Panthers
Forwards
Carter Verhaeghe – Aleksander Barkov – Sam Reinhart
Nick Cousins – Sam Bennett – Matthew Tkachuk
Eetu Luostarinen – Anton Lundell – Evan Rodrigues
Jonah Gadjovich – Kevin Stenlund – Ryan Lomberg
Defense
Gustav Forsling – Aaron Ekblad
Niko Mikkola – Brandon Montour
Oliver Ekman-Larsson – Dmitry Kulikov
Goaltenders
Sergey Bobrovsky, Anthony Stolarz (likely starter)
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