Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR 550) – The Buffalo Sabres will try to make it three-straight wins again on Thursday when they host the New York Islanders.
Buffalo has actually gotten its home record up to 16-17-1 thanks to their current streak that has seen four wins in five home games.
Only one team in the Eastern Conference Wild Card race played on Wednesday, and the Washington Capitals lost in Edmonton against the Oilers. That kept the Sabres two points behind the Capitals, but Washington still has two games in-hand.
The Islanders currently own the East’s last Wild Card spot with 72 points, which is five more than Buffalo. New York also has two games in-hand on the Sabres.
The Detroit Red Wings also have 72 points, so Buffalo has three teams to jump over instead of the six that the team has been for most of the season.
By Oct. 21, the Sabres had played the Islanders twice. They lost in Long Island, 3-2, and then won in Buffalo, 3-1.
Things are different now, because the Islanders changed head coaches back on Jan. 20. That was when general manager Lou Lamoriello decided to fire head coach Lane Lambert and replace him with Patrick Roy.
Since Roy's take over on the New York bench, the Isles are 12th in the NHL with a points percentage of .605.
Buffalo has beaten the Islanders six-consecutive times on home ice.
The Sabres' power play got going for a little while, scoring in five-consecutive games and 7-out-of-8. In the last four games, they’re only 1-for-10.
This is a place the Sabres could exploit, as the Islanders are last in the league in penalty killing. It hasn’t gotten any better under Roy, as they’re 30th under him.
In the two games against the Islanders this season, Buffalo is 0-for-5 with the man advantage. The good news is they’re 6-for-6 on the penalty kill.
It’s interesting that the Sabres have won two games in-a-row, yet, they’ve lost 3-of-5 games, while winning 7-of-11 contests.
Since coming to Buffalo, Bo Byram has three goals and four points in three games.
With Casey Mittelstadt traded, Peyton Krebs is still slumping, as he has one goal in 37 games.
Zemgus Girgensons has one goal and four points in his last six games, and three goals and three assists for six points in 11 games.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen has played in 22 out of the last 25 games for Buffalo. Overall this season, he’s 21-16-3 with a 2.44 goals-against average and a .914 save percentage.
Buffalo caught the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday coming back from a three-game West Coast road trip.
New York last played in Los Angeles on March 11. The Kings won 3-0, breaking the Islanders' six-game winning streak.
Before that winning streak, they had lost 8-of-12 games under Roy, and 16-of-22 overall.
The Islanders are the kings of the loser point this season. New York has picked up 14 loser points, which is second to the Boston Bruins, who have 15.
Buffalo only has five loser points, which tells you why they’re in the position they’re in.
Mathew Barzal has done well under Roy, scoring eight goals and 14 assists for 22 points in 19 games. Overall this season, Barzal has 20 goals and 48 assists for 68 points in 63 games.
Brock Nelson leads the Islanders with 29 goals, while Bo Horvat has 26. In his last 15 games, Nelson has eight goals and 10 assists for 18 points.
Kyle Palmieri has five goals in six games.
Ilya Sorokin will be in goal, as he’s 22-14-11 this season with a 2.99 goals-against average and .910 save percentage. Sorokin hasn’t given up more than three goals in 7-out-of-8 games.
Tune in during "Schopp and the Bulldog" for pregame coverage on WGR starting at 6 p.m. ET when you’ll hear from Don Granato, Tyson Jost and Jacob Bryson.
Losi & Gangi
