(WGR Sports Radio 550) - The Buffalo Sabres haven’t won two-straight games on the road since Dec. 29 when they beat the St. Louis Blues and New York Islanders.
The Sabres did have one three-game road winning streak in November when they won all three games of their California road trip. The Los Angeles Kings have only lost three games at home all season.
Buffalo broke its eight-game losing streak on the road on Monday, beating the Boston Bruins in overtime, 3-2.
Thursday will be the first time the Sabres have ever played a game in Utah against the Hockey Club. The team moved from Tempe, Arizona after last season following years of disorganization as the Arizona Coyotes.
In their first-ever game against the Hockey Club in Buffalo back on Dec. 7, the Sabres lost, 5-2. Tyson Kozak’s first NHL goal gave Buffalo a 1-0 lead, but Utah then scored five-straight goals on Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, three of which coming in the second period.
On the other side of the rink, Karel Vejmelka made 23 saves for Utah in the win.
The Sabres will likely get winger JJ Peterka back after missing three games with a lower-body injury.
Meanwhile, forward Jiri Kulich is in concussion protocol and stayed back in Buffalo. In addition, center Josh Norris is with the team, but didn’t practice on Wednesday.
With three of their top players out of the lineup due to injury, Ryan McLeod and Peyton Krebs have had roles on the power play. In the last three games, the unit has gone 4-for-9.
The penalty kill had struggled until the last two games, where it’s gone 3-for-3.
Buffalo earned three tough wins in their last four games with one-goal victories.
Luukkonen had to make some big saves at big times to help get those wins. Those are saves he wasn’t making since before the 4 Nations Face-Off break.
Tage Thompson has been red-hot, picking up 34 points in his last 31 games. His 34 goals are fifth in the NHL.
Rasmus Dahlin has been climbing up the NHL scoring race for defensemen, as his 52 points in 58 games ranks him seventh overall.
As for Utah, the team is four points out of the eighth and final Western Conference playoff spot. They haven’t done well recently, winning just 2-of-6 games.
The Hockey Club just seems average in almost every category, as they’re 22nd in goals for, 18th in goals against, and 13th in both the power play and penalty kill.
Clayton Keller is 11th in league scoring with 24 goals and 51 assists for 75 points. He’s ninth in the league in assists.
Dylan Guenther is just 21-years-old and has 24 goals this season in 56 games.
Vejmelka has played 45 games for Utah this season, and has posted a 19-18-6 record with a 2.50 goals-against average and a .908 save percentage. He’s played in 11-straight games for the Hockey Club.
Utah’s other goalie, Connor Ingram, entered the NHL/NHLPA’s Player Assistance Program on March 9.
Join Brian Koziol and myself for pregame coverage on WGR starting at 8 p.m.