(WGR Sports Radio 550) - The Buffalo Sabres went 0-1-1 at home against the two best road teams in the NHL. They will now hit the road, themselves, on Saturday night to play the New York Islanders.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen played both Wednesday and Friday, so there’s a chance that James Reimer will be in net for Buffalo. Reimer was spectacular in his Sabres debut, making 31 saves on 33 shots in a 4-2 win in San Jose over the Sharks.
Buffalo has won three-straight games on the road, and 4-out-of-5. Overall, the Sabres are 7-3-1 in their last 11 games. That’s picking up 15-out-of-22 points, which is fourth in the NHL.
Starting Saturday, they’re two points behind the Tampa Bay Lightning for third in the Atlantic Division, and one point behind both the New York Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers for the two Eastern Conference Wild Card spots. The Islanders are three points out of the Wild Card.
What’s starting to hurt this team is they’re having trouble putting the puck into the net. Since Nov. 16, the Sabres are second-worst in the NHL, averaging just 2.17 goals per-game in six games.
The power play has been very streaky this season. Buffalo was the last team in the NHL to score a power play goal, covering eight games. They then had power play goals in 10-of-11 games, and now they haven’t had one in four games, going 0-for-11.
They're the only team in the NHL this season that scored a goal with the extra man in seven-consecutive games.
The penalty kill since Nov. 5 is second in the NHL at 89.5%. Their goals-against average is seventh during that time at 2.55.
Alex Tuch has four goals and six assists for 10 points in his last eight games.
Sam Lafferty was injured in Friday's game and won't play. That will put Nic Aube-Kubel back into the lineup.
Buffalo lost at home to the Islanders back on Nov. 1, 4-3. The Sabres were behind 3-1 in the third period, and the final score was only close because Owen Power scored on a 6-on-5 with 1:01 left in the game.
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The Islanders have lost three-straight games and 6-out-of-7. They can’t score goals, and their special teams are a disaster.
New York is 27th in the league, scoring just 2.54 goals per-game. They’re 32nd on the power play and 31st on the penalty kill.
It is mind-boggling that they’re even in the playoff race. The reason they are in the race is just like last season, when they had 16 loser points to Buffalo’s six, they lead the NHL this season with six loser points. They just know how to get games to overtime instead of losing in regulation.
On Friday in Washington, Semyon Varlamov played, so there’s a good chance it’s Ilya Sorokin against the Sabres. Sorokin is 5-6-3 this season with a 2.70 goals-against average and a .909 save percentage. He’s lost five of his last six games.
Mat Barzal has missed 14 games due to injury, while Adam Pelech has been out the last 13. Anthony Duclair’s lower-body injury has had him out for 19 games, while J.G. Pageau is out with a lower-body injury.
The Isles' leading scorer is Kyle Palmieri with 10 goals and nine assists for 19 points in 24 games.
The fans are getting restless in Long Island, as in recent games, they’ve been chanting for the firing of general manager Lou Lamoriello.
Join Brian Koziol and myself at 6:30 p.m. EST for pregame coverage on WGR.