Game 22

Buffalo Sabres (8-10-3) vs. Seattle Kraken (7-13-1)

Puck Drop: 7:00 PM EST | KeyBank Center | Buffalo, NY

TV: MSG

Radio: WGR 550

SB Nation Kraken Blog: Davy Jones Locker Room

Know Your Opponent

Seattle Kraken

Record: (7-13-1) | 15 PTS

Division Ranking: 7th in Pacific

PP: 19th (18.0%)

PK: 14th (82.2%)

1. Slumping Teams

Buffalo and Seattle roll into Monday night’s matchup, both in a bit of a slump.

Buffalo lost their last game against Detroit in overtime, while Seattle handed the Florida Panthers their first home loss of the season.

Despite these two dramatically different outcomes, the Sabres are 3-6-1 in their last 10 games and the Kraken are 3-7-0 in their last 10 games.

2. Welcome to Buffalo

On Sunday, the Buffalo Sabres announced the signing of forward Mark Jankowski.

For those who might have thought that name sounded familiar, Jankowski spent the first 13 games of the American Hockey League season with the Rochester Americans. In those 13 games, Jankowski recorded 12 points (5 goals, 7 assists).

Jankowski was on an AHL contract, which explains the necessity for a NHL contract.

Another tie-in with Mark Jankowski and the Buffalo Sabres?

Jankowski was selected with the 21st overall pick in the 2012 NHL Entry Level Draft. This pick was acquired from the Nashville Predators via the Buffalo Sabres, which came in a trade that allowed Buffalo to move up to 14th overall to select Zemgus Girgensons.

3. Returning to Practice

For the first time since being acquired by the Buffalo Sabres on November 4, 2021, forward Alex Tuch took the ice.

While Tuch is still listed as month-to-month following offseason shoulder surgery, returning to the ice is not only a good sign for Tuch but for the Buffalo Sabres as a whole.

It is currently unknown how much longer Tuch will be out but following practice, head coach Don Granato pointed out that Tuch is not expected “for a few weeks”. Either way, it is clear with Tuch beginning to ramp up on-ice activities, his return could be closer than originally anticipated.

Projected Lineups

Buffalo Sabres

Forwards

Jeff Skinner - Tage Thompson - Victor Olofsson

Brett Murray - Dylan Cozens - Kyle Okposo

Anders Bjork - Zemgus Girgensons - Rasmus Asplund

Vinnie Hinostroza - Cody Eakin - John Hayden

Defense

Rasmus Dahlin - Mark Pysyk

Jacob Bryson - Henri Jokiharju

Robert Hagg - Colin Miller

Starter: Dustin Tokarski

Seattle Kraken

Forwards

Marcus Johansson - Alexander Wennberg - Jordan Eberle

Jaden Schwartz - Yanni Gourde - Mason Appleton

Brandon Tanev - Morgan Geekie - Jared McCann

Ryan Donato - Colin Blackwell - Joonas Donskoi

Defense

Jamie Oleksiak - Haydn Fleury

Adam Larsson - Jeremy Lauzon

Vince Dunn - Carson Soucy

Starter: Philipp Grubauer