Sabres Visit Red-Hot Flames
Late Friday night tilt won’t be an easy one for Buffalo.
Game 62
Buffalo Sabres (20-33-8) vs. Calgary Flames (37-16-7)
Puck Drop: 9:00 PM EST | Scotiabank Saddledome | Calgary, AB
TV: MSG-B
Radio: WGR 550
SB Nation Flames Blog: Matchsticks and Gasoline
Know Your Opponent
Calgary Flames
Record: (37-16-7) | 81 PTS
Division Ranking: 1st in Pacific Division
PP: 11th (23.4%)
PK: 4th (85.4%)
What to Watch
1. A New Flame
Calle Järnkrok is expected to make his Calgary debut tonight, after being traded by the Seattle Kraken earlier this week. The 30-year-old center has 26 points on the season, including 14 assists. He appeared in 49 games with the Kraken. Nearly 1/5th of his points this season have come on the power play.
Seattle received three draft picks in the deal: a second-rounder in 2022, a third-rounder in 2023 and a seventh-rounder in 2024.
2. Looking to Avoid a Repeat
The Sabres and Flames last met on November 18, when Calgary shut out Buffalo 5-0. Dustin Tokarski took the L that night after allowing five goals on 23 shots faced in 40 minutes of play. Aaron Dell also played 10 minutes.
Andrew Mangiapane and Johnny Gaudreau each had a pair of goals. Matthew Tkachuk also scored, and Jacob Markstrom recorded the 27-save shutout.
The Sabres seem to be a different team nowadays than they were back then. Exactly five months later, they’ll look to avoid a repeat of that night in November.
Projected Lineups
Buffalo Sabres
Forwards
Jeff Skinner - Tage Thompson - Alex Tuch
Peyton Krebs - Dylan Cozens - Vinnie Hinostroza
Rasmus Asplund - Casey Mittelstadt - Victor Olofsson
Zemgus Girgensons - Cody Eakin - Kyle Okposo
Defense
Rasmus Dahlin - Henri Jokiharju
Mattias Samuelsson - Jacob Bryson
Robert Hagg - Mark Pysyk
Colin Miller
Starting Goaltender: Dustin Tokarski
Edmonton Oilers
Forwards
Johnny Gaudreau - Elias Lindholm - Matthew Tkachuk
Blake Coleman - Mikael Backlund - Trevor Lewis
Andrew Mangiapane - Calle Järnkrok - Tyler Toffoli
Milan Lucic - Sean Monahan - Dillon Dube
Defense
Noah Hanifin - Rasmus Andersson
Oliver Kylington - Chris Tanev
Nikita Zadorov - Erik Gudbranson
Starting Goaltender: Jacob Markstrom