Buffalo looking to start off road trip on a high
Buffalo Sabres (41-20-6) vs Vegas Golden Knights (31-22-14)
Puck Drop: 10:00 pm ET | T-Mobile Arena, Paradise NV
TV: MSG-B, ESPN+
Radio: WGR 550, Sirius XM (app)
Know Your Opponent
Vegas Golden Knights
Record: 31-22-14 | 76 PTS
Last Game: 4-0 win over Chicago Blackhawks; 4-6-0 in last ten games
Division Ranking: 2nd, Pacific
PP: 3rd, 25.5% (48/188) [Sabres: 16th, 20.7% (42/203)]
PK: 6th, 82.3% (135/164) [Sabres: 4th, 82.9% (150/181)]
What to Watch
1. Roster Rotation
The Sabres did some rotation last week giving minutes to trade deadline additions Logan Stanley and Luke Schenn, and so far it has not gone well. The third defensive pair struggled to play the fast, dynamic defensive hockey that has become the Sabres hallmark. Still, this is a good opportunity for Lindy Ruff to give them some playing time before the pressure cauldron that is the playoffs.
Sam Carrick has been a brilliant addition though and it’ll be hard to see him drop out of the squad at this point. The jury remains out on Tanner Pearson however.
Looks like it will be Stanley and Zach Metsa for the third defensive pairing, but Alex Tuch missed the morning skate sick, and his status for the game is uncertain.
2. Special Teams
Vegas are in the thick of the Western Conference playoff race, and their special teams units are a big part of that. They have the third-best power play unit and sixth-best penalty kill unit. It will be in Buffalo’s best interests to stay away from shorthanded situations altogether tonight.
Interestingly, Vegas’ penalty kill at home is a lot more lax, ranked only 14th at 80.8%
3. He Who Shall Not Be Named
Buffalo beat Vegas at KeyBank Center in Tage Thompson’s first home game after the Winter Olympics with the Sabres jumping out into an early lead before the visitors almost made it a comeback. The spotlight will always be on Jack Eichel when he plays against the Sabres, but watch out for right wings Pavel Dorofeyev who is on a heater too with eight points in his last five games, and 57 points in 67 games this season and Mitch Marner who is second in scoring for the Golden Knights behind only Eichel.
Projected Lineups
Buffalo Sabres
Forwards
Zach Benson – Tage Thompson – Alex Tuch
Jason Zucker – Ryan McLeod – Jack Quinn
Noah Ostlund – Josh Norris – Josh Doan
Peyton Krebs – Sam Carrick – Beck Malenstyn
Defense
Mattias Samuelsson – Rasmus Dahlin
Bowen Byram – Owen Power
Zach Metsa – Logan Stanley
Goaltenders
Alex Lyon, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (projected starter)
Vegas Golden Knights
Forwards
Ivan Barbashev – Jack Eichel – Mark Stone
Pavel Dorofeyev – Tomas Hertl – Mitch Marner
Brett Howden – Colton Sissons – Braeden Bowman
Cole Smith – Nic Dowd – Keegan Kolesar
Defense
Brayden McNabb – Shea Theodore
Noah Hanifin – Rasmus Andersson
Jeremy Lauzon – Kaedan Korczak
Goaltenders
Adin Hill (confirmed starter), Akira Schmid