Buffalo Sabres (1-4-1) at Chicago Blackhawks (2-2-1)
Puck Drop: 8:00 PM | United Center | Chicago, Illinois
TV: MSG-B
Radio: WGR 550
Know Your Opponent
Chicago Blackhawks
Record: 2-2-1 | 5 PTS
Division Ranking: 6th in Central
Last Game: 4-2 Win vs Sharks
PP: T5th (31.3%)
PK: T13th (83.3%)
What to Watch
1. A Tale of Two Powerplays
The Sabres’ powerplay continues to be tied for the worst in the league with Anaheim. The Sabres and Ducks are the only teams in the NHL without a powerplay goal this year. On the opposing side, Chicago has one of the best in the league. They are currently tied for 5th best in the league at 31.3%. This might be unsustainably high, but they have proven to be an effective unit early on. Teravainen leads the team with 2 goals and 5 points on the powerplay. Bedard isn’t far behind with 4 powerplay assists so far. Buffalo will need to keep the play at 5 on 5 as much as possible to have a successful night. They have to score one eventually, right?
2. Dynamic Duo
Teuvo Teravainen began his NHL career during the peak of the Blackhawks’ 2010’s dynasty. He proved to be an impact player during their 2015 cup run and solidified himself as a full time NHLer the following season. However, he became a cap casualty as he was traded to Carolina to unload Brian Bickel’s contract. Teravainen would breakout in Carolina and has been a top line forward for them a majority of the last 8 seasons. The Blackhawks brought their prodigal son home this offseason when they signed him to a three-year deal. The move is already paying dividends as he has found instant chemistry with franchise center Connor Bedard. The two lead the Blackhawks with 7 points in 5 games. The Sabres cannot allow them room to work. Without last change, Buffalo won’t be able to control the matchups, but look for Ruff to keep the McLeod line against them as much as possible.
3. Great Day for a Save
Unlike the first few three games of the season, the Sabres haven’t had trouble scoring goals in their last three. Unfortunately, it seems like when one flaw is corrected, another shows up. The last two losses have been a mixture of poor defense and lackluster goaltending. Both goaltenders have shown to be much better than each of their last starts. Luukkonen will have an opportunity to bounce back tonight. Last season, he was able to follow up sub-par outings with quality performances on numerous occasions. In the 2023-2024 season, UPL had 6 outings (5 starts) with a save percentage below 80%. In the 6 starts that followed, he averaged a 91.1 save percentage. Odds are that he will have a bounce back night against Chicago.
Projected Lineups
Buffalo Sabres
Forwards
Peterka – Thompson – Tuch
Kulich – Cozens – Quinn
Greenway – McLeod – Zucker
Malenstyn – Krebs – Lafferty
Benson
Defense
Dahlin – Jokiharju
Byram – Power
Samuelsson – Clifton
Starter: Luukkonen
Chicago Blackhawks
Forwards
Foligno – Bedard – Teravainen
Hall – Kurashev – Bertuzzi
Mikheyev – Dickinson – Anderson
Maroon – Reichel – Smith
Defense
Vlasic – Jones
Kaiser – Brodie
Allan – Murphy
Starter: Mrazek