The Buffalo Sabres are set to begin a stretch of road games, starting with a matchup against the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arena on Wednesday. The team recently concluded a four-game homestand and will now play 13 of their next 18 games away from home. So far this season, the Sabres have struggled on the road with a record of 1-5-2, compared to an 8-4-2 mark at KeyBank Center. However, they secured a win in their most recent road game in Detroit on November 15.
In each of their road losses, the Sabres were either tied or within one goal during the third period. Head coach Lindy Ruff addressed the need for improvement away from home: “We know that we need to pick up road wins, obviously,” Ruff said. “We’ve got to be a better road team. We’re right there in a lot of road games, but we haven’t finished the deal.”
Buffalo enters Wednesday’s game having won four out of its last five contests, bringing its season points percentage back to .500 at 9-9-4. The roster has also seen players return from injury; Zach Benson and Jason Zucker have both contributed since rejoining the lineup.
Tonight’s game holds significance as Buffalo trails Pittsburgh by three points in the standings, with both teams competing for position in the Eastern Conference wild card race.
Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m., with television coverage available on MSG (pregame begins at 6:30 p.m.), streaming through Gotham Sports App and ESPN+ (out of market), and radio coverage on WGR 550 and the Buffalo Sabres App.
Goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen is expected to start for the third consecutive game after stopping 49 of 53 shots in his last two starts—a .926 save percentage. Luukkonen had not played back-to-back games earlier this season due to injury and rotation among other goaltenders Alex Lyon and Colten Ellis.
“I would say he’s looked good in the two starts, and he’s won two games,” Ruff said. “I think it’s going to take him a few more – he’s getting comfortable with playing again – but I’ve liked his game.
“I think he’s been able to pick up some stuff through traffic, and that’s probably the hardest part, with the amount of people that get in front of your goaltender nowadays. He looks refreshed back there, so you just put that all together and hope he can just build confidence off of that.”
Josh Norris participated fully in practice Tuesday following an upper body injury but will not play tonight; Ruff indicated Norris could return this weekend.
Forward Tage Thompson extended his goal-scoring streak to six games with an empty-net goal Sunday—the longest such streak by a Sabres player since Jason Pominville in 2006 and tied for longest in the NHL this season. With another goal tonight, Thompson could join seven other Sabres who have posted streaks of seven or more consecutive games with a goal; Mike Foligno, Rick Martin, Alexander Mogilny, Gilbert Perreault, Rene Robert, Miroslav Satan and Rick Vaive share that distinction. The franchise record stands at eight straight games.
The Penguins started their season strong but have lost five out of their last six games entering Wednesday’s contest. Despite this slump, they remain close to playoff position thanks partly to what is currently considered the league’s best power play unit led by Sidney Crosby (six power-play goals) and Evgeni Malkin (10 power-play points). This unit will face Buffalo’s top-ranked penalty kill tonight.
“I think both Malkin and Crosby have gotten off too a great start this year, played very well,” Ruff said. “They’re world-elite players and they know what it takes, and I think when the game’s on the line, they both elevate their play.”
Buffalo has found some success against Pittsburgh recently—going 3-1-1 over their past five meetings—and has earned points during its last two visits to Pittsburgh (1-0-1).
