(WGR 550) – The Buffalo Sabres finish their three-game California road trip in San Jose on Saturday, looking to win two-out-of-three games.
Buffalo started the trip in Los Angeles, losing to the Kings 5-2. Then they got that game back in Anaheim, beating the Ducks 7-3.
In their last 18 road games, Buffalo is 13-3-2, picking up 28 out of a possible 36 points. That's one of the reasons why they’re back in the playoff race.
Casey Mittelstadt has gone from really struggling to being one of their best forward lately. He has five points in his last three games, and 16 points in his last 21. Only three Sabres were better in those 21 games: Alex Tuch (22 points), Rasmus Dahlin (21) and Tage Thompson (20).
Jeff Skinner has gone ice cold since the calendar turned to 2023. Since Dec. 31, which covers 20 games, Skinner only has three goals and 14 points.
Victor Olofsson went on a goal scoring binge that saw him score 10 goals in 12 games, but since then has no goals in five games.
Dahlin has one goal in 14 games, but he’s picked up 11 assists in that time.
Buffalo’s last two wins have come from Eric Comrie in goal. He won games in Winnipeg and Anaheim.
Craig Anderson only has one win in his last five starts. That was a 3-2 overtime win in Dallas against the Western Conference-best Stars.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen played the first game back from break and it was a disaster, giving up seven goals at home to the Calgary Flames. Luukkonen has lost his last three starts after winning his three before that. He’s allowed 11 goals in his last two outings.
The Sabres are 6-3-1 in their last 10 games.
San Jose has lost two in-a-row and three out of four. They only scored one goal in all three losses.
The Sharks' penalty kill has been perfect for four games, killing all 14 penalties against them. San Jose’s penalty kill is second in the NHL at 83.8%.
Thanks to an injury to goalie James Reimer that has kept him out of six-straight games, former Sabres netminder Aaron Dell has played in two of the last three games. He’s started three games this season and has lost them all to Buffalo, the Toronto Maple Leafs and Pittsburgh Penguins.
Alexander Barabanov has points in five out of six games, scoring four goals and four assists for eight points.
Captain Logan Couture has eight points in six games, while Timo Meier has gone quiet with one point in four games. Meier is their second-leading scorer with 31 goals and 52 points in 56 games.
The old man, Erik Karlsson, is the Sharks' leading scorer with 55 assists and 73 points in 56 games. That puts him three points ahead of Tage Thompson, but Karlsson has played three more games.
San Jose is 29th in the league in points percentage at .402, while Buffalo is 18th at .547.
Join Pat Malacaro and myself for pregame coverage on WGR starting at 9:30 p.m. EST.
Losi and Gangi
