Denver, Colo. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - You have to think that the Buffalo Sabres will be out for revenge on Thursday against the Colorado Avalanche.
Buffalo’s 2024-25 season went up in smoke on Dec. 3 when they left the first period of their matchup with the Avalanche up 4-0, and then up 4-1 in the third period, only to lose in regulation time, 5-4.
That loss helped contribute to a 3-9-2 December, which landed them in last place in the Eastern Conference and eight points behind the Ottawa Senators for the final playoff spot in the conference.
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Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff feels the players can use that game nearly a month ago as motivation for Thursday night.
"You can use parts of that, obviously a disappointing finish to that game the way we started, so it’s definitely in the back of your mind," said Ruff following Thursday's morning skate.
The sad part for Sabres fans is even though this club has won 3-of-4 games, they still haven’t been able to climb out of the cellar.
In Dallas on New Year’s Eve, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen was, once again, outstanding, and gave the Sabres a chance to win with the game still 2-2 in the third.
The Sabres had been winning because of vastly improved special teams. In the last four games, they’re 7-for-7 on the penalty kill, and in the four games where they’ve had a power play, they’re 4-for-10.
Buffalo didn’t get an extra man opportunity against the Stars.
Tage Thompson is on a four-game point streak, scoring two goals and three assists for five points. What I think is concerning is he’s only had more than two shots in one of his last 12 games. He had five against the New York Rangers, and just 12 in the other 11 games.
Ruff does believe that needs to be better.
"I think you look at some of the O-zone play, I didn‘t feel we’ve been really connected where you get 10-to-15 seconds in the O-zone. I think some, if it is move the puck quicker instead of hanging on before they close things off for you, he’ll get more second opportunities. And I think he’s passed up some opportunities," Ruff said of Thompson. "Even the St. Louis game, the quick 2-on-1 he missed the net, so there’s been more opportunities for him to get more pucks. He just hasn’t chosen that play."
Jason Zucker has three goals and two assists for five points in his last five games. In 38 games, Zucker has 11 goals and 15 assists for 26 points. Over 82 games, that works out to 24 goals and 32 assists for 56 points.
Zucker’s leadership, especially to Jiri Kulich, has been much more valuable than his points. This has been an excellent signing by general manager Kevyn Adams.
Another good acquisition by Adams came last season when he acquired defenseman Bo Byram from the Avalanche for forward Casey Mittelstadt.
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In 56 career games with the Sabres, Byram has seven goals and 23 assists for 30 points.
So far this season in 38 games, Byram has four goals and 17 assists, and has really blossomed lately for the Sabres. His 17 assists are already a career-high. Byram also averages over 23 minutes of ice-time per game for the Sabres.
Amongst all defensemen in the NHL, Byram is sixth with 20 even strength points. Owen Power is third with 22 even strength points.
Byram was happy to be back on the ice in Denver for the first time since last March's trade.
"It’s fun. Lots of good memories here. It’ll be fun to play my first game back," said Byram on Thursday.
Byram appreciates starting his career with Colorado as a 19-year-old. He only spent two games in the AHL after being the fourth overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft.
"I came here as a young guy, and it became my second home> There’s lots of fond memories," Byram said.
"At the rink, away from the rink, met a lot of good people, and grew a lot of good friendships. It’s good to see everyone."
In 38 games this season, Mittelstadt has eight goals and 16 assists for 24 points. The center started the season with six goals and 10 assists for 16 points in his first 15 games. He has since put up six points in 19 games.
Colorado is now in third place in the Central Division, four points back of the Minnesota Wild. This is all thanks to a five-game winning streak, and a stretch where they’ve won 9-of-11 contests.
The biggest reason for the turnaround is they’ve gotten rid of, maybe, their biggest mistake in years.
Alexandar Georgiev was the New York Rangers' backup goalie when Colorado acquired him in the summer of 2022. He was in net for all four of the Sabres' first period goals in Buffalo before Scott Wedgewood replaced him, playing in his first game since being traded to Colorado.
Wedgewood went on to slam the door, stopping all 22 shots he faced in just over 48 minutes of work.
Before being traded to the San Jose Sharks for Mackenzie Blackwood, Georgiev was 8-7-0 with a 3.38 goals-against average and an .874 save percentage.
Since the trade, both Blackwood and Wedgewood have been lights-out with Colorado.
With the Avalanche, Wedgewood is 4-2-0 with a 1.93 goals-against average and a .932 save percentage.
As for Blackwood, he is 5-1-0 with a 1.85 goals-against average and a .936 save percentage. Blackwood has had the crease since his first game on Dec. 14, playing 6-of-7 games.
Overall this season, Blackwood is 11-10-3 with a 2.71 goals-against average and a .917 save percentage.
With that in mind, Blackwood is getting a rest on Thursday in favor of Wedgewood.
Ruff coached both goaltenders in New Jersey. He said he always liked what Wedgewood put into his game.
"He’s a great competitor. He’s been a guy that has stepped in in a lot of different places, and has played really good hockey. I liked him," Ruff said.
"He was the type of guy in practice where he played every practice like he was playing the next game, and he gave them a heck of a performance when he stepped in."
During the 2018-19 season, Wedgewood played 48 games with the Rochester Americans, as well as three playoff games. He went 28-16-1 in Rochester with a 2.68 goals-against average and a .908 save percentage.
Starting with the game in Boston back on Dec. 21, the Sabres played three games where they averaged only 21.3 shots-against per game. They defended as well as they had all year.
In the past two games, they’ve forced Luukkonen into facing numerous point-blank opportunities, giving up 70 shots. That’s a stat that will make a coach like Ruff angry.
"We had a lengthy meeting this morning about the Boston game, the Island game, the Chicago game, and it starts with puck play," Ruff said. "You look at some of the opportunities that Dallas had in the game, the puck was on our stick, and you make a bad decision and you’re going to pay for it."
Colorado is 21-5-0 in their last 26 games against Buffalo, and 10-2-0 in their last 12.
Nate MacKinnon was the NHL’s "First Star" for the month of December, leading the league in scoring with seven goals and 18 assists for 25 points in 13 games.
MacKinnon leads the NHL with 61 points, and 47 assists in 38 games played.
Mikko Rantanen has points in 11-straight games, scoring six goals and 13 assists for 19 points. He’s third in league scoring with 21 goals and 33 assists for 54 points.
Defenseman Cale Makar is 11th in league scoring with 11 goals and 35 assists for 46 points.
Join Brian Koziol for pregame coverage on WGR starting at 8 p.m. EST when you’ll hear from Ruff, Byram and Mattias Samuelsson.