Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR) - Thanks to picking up seven out of eight possible points against the Lightning last season, the Buffalo Sabres were able to come from behind and catch Tampa Bay to win the Atlantic Division.
Tampa Bay was used to coming to Buffalo and slapping the Sabres around, and easily walk away with two points. They thought they were going to do that last year, showing the Sabres no respect. However, it was Buffalo that was the aggressor and, by the end of the four games played, the Lightning knew they were in for tough games against Buffalo and had a newfound respect.
The Lightning spent much of the time in games last season trying to find Rasmus Dahlin and physically punish him. It hasn't worked, as in 25 games played against Tampa Bay, the Sabres captain has 24 points.
Sabres forward Tage Thompson has 11 goals and 22 points in 21 games against the Lightning.
On the other side, veteran Lightning winger Nikita Kucherov has 23 goals and 33 assists for 56 points in 43 games against Buffalo.
Andrei Vasilevskiy is 14-4-3 against Buffalo in his career, and played in three of the four games last season against the Sabres. He has a 2.63 career goals-against against the Sabres and a .905 save percentage.
In one game last season, the Sabres had the last laugh when they chased Vasilevskiy after just 21:54, scoring five goals on him.
Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff knows what kind of game to expect.
"The challenge when you look at it is they've got an excellent goaltender, they have a power play that can be really dangerous (21st in the NHL). Anytime you have a Kucherov on a power play, it's something that you talk about immediately," Ruff said following Tuesday's practice. "A lot of times we look at our speed versus their speed, and where is that inside of a game. Can we be quicker than them?"
If you go by Tuesday's practice, Ryan McLeod will return to the lineup and Jiri Kulich will, once again, sit. I asked Ruff if it would help Kulich to rediscover his game if he went to Rochester for a week or two and get some game action with the Americans.
"I think that can sometimes go two ways: Sometimes it can be a positive; sometimes it can be extremely tough on a guy, on a player that mentally thinks he should be in the NHL, that has been in the NHL and has been a good player and has been a difference maker and has scored quite a few goals (19 goals in 85 NHL games)," Ruff explained. "Mentally, sometimes that's a really huge challenge that some players can't get over.
"Does it benefit some players? I think it benefits if you go down and play a lot and you start to feel good about yourself."
In the last six games, the Sabres are seventh in the league in goals-against, which should be good enough to win hockey games. It's been a rotation with Colten Ellis and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, and Wednesday is Luukkonen's turn.
Overall this season, Luukkonen is 5-3-3 with a 3.27 goals-against average and an .878 save percentage. He has points in seven of his last eight games, going 4-1-3. He has a .910 save percentage in his last three games, and a .927 save percentage in his last two contests.
The problem for the Sabres is scoring goals at home. Buffalo is 4-5-0 on home ice this season, and have lost five of their last seven. The Sabres are 31st in the league, scoring an average of 2.33 goals per-game at home. Of the nine home games, the Sabres have scored one or fewer goals in five of them.
The power play has been horrific in the last three games, going 0-for-9. The opponents have outscored the Sabres, and have better chances while Buffalo has the extra man.
Overall, the power play is 30th in the NHL at 14.3%, and Ruff refuses to change anything on the first unit as they continue to spin their wheels.
Buffalo is 10th in the Eastern Conference with a points percentage of .559. The Washington Capitals have the eighth and final playoff spot in the East with a points percentage of .625.
The Atlantic Division is starting to get away from the Sabres, as the Lightning hold down third place at .706. The Montreal Canadiens are in second at .722, and the Boston Bruins are first at .750.
Buffalo is 18th overall in the NHL in points percentage.
Tampa Bay has points in 6-of-7 games, going 4-1-2.
Buffalo will likely see Vasilevskiy in net Wednesday, who is 8-4-1 this season with a 2.85 goals-against average and an .883 save percentage.
Kucherov has 22 points in 17 games this season, but has just one goal in his last eight games.
Join Zach Jones and Derek Kramer for pregame coverage on WGR starting at 6 p.m. EST when you'll here from Ruff, Josh Doan and Jason Zucker.
