The Buffalo Sabres will face the Pittsburgh Penguins at KeyBank Center on Thursday in their final game before the Olympic break. The matchup holds significance for the Sabres, who are currently in the first wild card position. A win would move them into second place in the Atlantic Division due to tiebreakers over Montreal and Detroit.
Buffalo has posted a 1-1-1 record in its last three games, all of which were closely contested against other Atlantic Division teams. In their most recent outing, they lost 4-3 in overtime to Tampa Bay, coming within 30 seconds of victory.
Thursday’s game provides a brief pause from divisional play, but the Penguins remain a formidable Eastern Conference opponent. Pittsburgh recently concluded January with six consecutive wins before dropping two straight games by one-goal margins.
Fans can watch the game on MSG if they are within the Sabres broadcast market, or stream it via Gotham Sports App and ESPN+ for out-of-market viewers. Radio coverage is available on WGR 550 and through the Buffalo Sabres App.
The Sabres will be without forwards Zach Benson (upper body), Josh Norris (upper body), and Jordan Greenway (middle body). Michael Kesselring replaces Zach Metsa on defense for this game, while Alex Lyon is set to start in goal.
Prior to puck drop, Buffalo will honor Rasmus Dahlin (Sweden) and Tage Thompson (United States), who are set to participate in the Olympics. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen was also selected for Finland but will miss the tournament due to an upper-body injury. The Penguins have four Olympians: Sidney Crosby (Canada), Arturs Silovs (Latvia), Erik Karlsson (Sweden), and Rickard Rakell (Sweden).
Dahlin enters Thursday’s contest with a six-game point streak, tallying four goals and seven assists during that span. His next assist will move him past Rick Martin into sixth place on Buffalo’s all-time franchise list with 314 assists. Josh Doan has scored in each of his last two games, while Mattias Samuelsson comes off a two-goal performance against Tampa Bay—making him the only NHL defenseman this season with at least ten goals and ninety hits.
On Pittsburgh’s side, Egor Chinakhov leads with eight goals since joining from Columbus after a trade on December 29. Anthony Mantha has contributed six goals and eleven points over his last eight games. While Pittsburgh’s power play has slowed recently, their penalty kill remains strong—allowing just two goals over thirty-seven opportunities since January 13—and they hold a 7-3-3 record during that period.
