Los Angeles, Calif. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - Most members of the Buffalo Sabres took part in Friday's optional practice in Los Angeles. Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff says there are no new injuries to report, and players like Tage Thompson, Alex Tuch and Bo Byram were just getting rest days.
Buffalo comes into Saturday's game against the Los Angeles Kings with two-consecutive shutouts. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Alex Lyon both notched shutouts earlier this week against the Vegas Golden Knights (Luukkonen) and the San Jose Sharks (Lyon).
The team's ongoing shutout streak is now at 164:07.
Lyon is also one road win away from tying the NHL record for the most-consecutive road wins. His 5-0 shutout of the Sharks gave him 10-consecutive road wins. Both Evgeni Nabokov (Sharks) and Devan Dubnyk (Minnesota Wild) hold the record of 11-straight road wins.
Lyon is now 17-2-0 in his last 19 games, posting a goals-against average of 2.62 with a .915 save percentage.
Meanwhile, Luukkonen is 12-4-1 in his last 17 games.
Rasmus Dahin had a goal and an assist in San Jose to break a three-game pointless streak. He's still been red-hot over the last 26 games, scoring 10 goals and 23 assists for 33 points.
The Sharks game was just another illustration on how far this Sabres group has come. They didn't play well against the Sharks, but Lyon was a brick wall, keeping the score 0-0 through the first half of the game.
Midway through the second period, Buffalo had no shots in the period. They proceeded to then score on their next three shots in a span of 1:43, and in a flash they had a 3-0 lead. It was the only three shots they'd have in the period.
That was the type of game they would always lose, but this season, they find ways to win those contests, even if they don't play well for long stretches.
Tage Thompson hadn't picked up a point in four games and hadn't scored in five. Just 40 seconds into the third period, he dribbled one through Alex Nedeljkovic, giving Buffalo four goals on four-consecutive shots.
Carolina is back even in games with Buffalo, and lead the Sabres by two points for first overall in the Eastern Conference. Buffalo leads the Atlantic Division with a points percentage of .667. The Tampa Bay Lightning are at .657 and are four points behind.
Tampa Bay visits Edmonton on Saturday, while Carolina plays on Sunday in Pittsburgh.
Back in late January, the Sabres beat the Kings in Buffalo, 4-1.
The Kings are 3-1-2 in their last six games.
Artemi Panarin has played 12 games since being acquired from the New York Rangers, and has four goals and 11 assists for 15 points. Lindy Ruff knows they can't lose track of the Russian star.
"They've got Panarin now, who can create high-end offense. You've got to be aware of that," said Ruff on Friday.
Panarin is their leading scorer with 23 goals and 49 assists for 72 points.
For years, the Kings would try to play the game in the neutral zone to frustrate the opponent and jump on their mistakes. Ruff thinks they aren't that defensive bunch anymore.
Los Angeles is ninth in the NHL with a goals-against average of 2.91. The Sabres are eighth in the NHL at 2.90.
The difference is since Dec. 9, Buffalo is 32-6-2 and lead the league with a goals-against average of 2.43. They are second in goals-for at 3.80.
Los Angeles comes into the game in the second Wild Card position in the Western Conference. Three teams are within two points of them.
Recently, Darcy Kuemper has been getting most of the games in goal for the Kings. He's 17-13-11 this season with a 2.65 goals-against average and an .897 save percentage.
Join Brian Koziol on Saturday for pregame coverage on WGR starting at 3 p.m., where you'll hear from Ruff and Noah Ostlund.
Alex Lyon and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen have a combined shutout streak of 164:07
