After two narrow road wins, the Buffalo Sabres are set to face the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday at 7 p.m. at Benchmark International Arena. Both teams have been among the most successful in the NHL since December 9, with Buffalo holding a 23-5-2 record and Tampa Bay close behind at 22-4-2. The Sabres currently sit second in the Atlantic Division, trailing only the Lightning.
This matchup marks the second of four late-season games between these teams. In their previous meeting earlier this month, Buffalo led until the final minute before Darren Raddysh tied it for Tampa Bay and Jake Guentzel secured an overtime win for the Lightning. The Sabres have performed well in back-to-back games this season, with a 5-1-2 record in such situations.
Fans can watch Saturday’s game on MSG in the Sabres broadcast market, with pregame coverage starting at 6:30 p.m., or stream it via Gotham Sports App and ESPN+ (out of market). Radio coverage is available on WGR 550 and through the Buffalo Sabres App.
Coach Lindy Ruff confirmed that Zach Benson will return to the lineup after missing time due to an upper-body injury sustained on February 2 and a subsequent “viral” illness. Ruff stated Benson will start “down the lineup,” but may be used across different lines to help manage ice times during this back-to-back stretch. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen is expected to start in goal.
Reflecting on Friday night’s win over Florida, Beck Malenstyn highlighted the team’s recent resilience: “That’s been a huge strength of the group as of late: everybody’s willing to do what it takes to win hockey games,” Malenstyn said postgame. “That physical sacrifice, being willing to take a hit as a winger to get a puck out of the zone, take a hit as a D-man to make the right little play that you can break pressure, willingness to get to the front of the net. All of those things are contributing to winning hockey, and it’s looked really good for us.”
Tampa Bay has continued its strong form after returning from break, defeating Toronto before falling narrowly at Carolina. The team has not lost consecutive games since mid-December. Nikita Kucherov remains a key player for Tampa Bay; he recorded four points against Buffalo earlier this month and has amassed 44 points over his last 18 games—a stretch not seen since Mario Lemieux’s performance in 1995-96.
Brayden Point recently returned from injury and Olympic duty with Team Canada and has contributed five points in his last two outings. Andrei Vasilevskiy is likely to start in goal for Tampa Bay following Jonas Johansson’s appearance Thursday; Vasilevskiy is currently riding a nine-game winning streak with a .938 save percentage and holds an overall record of 17-0-1 since December 20.
