Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - The Buffalo Sabres will try to avoid their first four-game losing streak of the year when they host former teammate Casey Mittelstadt and the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday night.
With the Sabres, Mittelstadt played 339 games, scoring 62 goals and 124 assists for 186 points. Mittelstadt got off to a hot start for Colorado this season, scoring six goals and 10 assists for 16 points in his first 15 games. In his last 10 games, though, he has one goal and one assist for two points.
Mittelstadt reminded us that he’s been a streaky player his whole career.
"I’ve had stretches like this in my career, so when these things come, I’ve had a little experience with it," said Mittelstadt on Tuesday following his morning skate. "I’m trying to work through it faster than maybe I did in the past, but the main thing for me is to maintain confidence."
Mittelstadt grew up with a lot of the current Sabres players, and he was Rasmus Dahlin’s first roommate. He said they all went out Monday.
"I went to dinner with quite a few of them, so it was good to see them," Mittelstadt said. "It’s been awhile, and there are a lot of really good memories with them. Lifelong friends, for sure."
When I asked Mittelstadt if his former teammates made him pay, he answered with a smile and a laugh.
"We’ll leave that undisclosed," he said.
Alex Tuch was looking for to Mittelstadt’s return to Buffalo.
"It’ll be good to see the guy," said Tuch. "I’m sure he’s a little nervous, because it’s never the easiest thing to do, but we love Casey. He was a great teammate here, he had a lot of success here. It was tough to see him go, but it’ll be really fun to see him back."
Mittelstadt is not at all surprised that Dahlin is the new captain of the Sabres. He says he’s seen how hard Dahlin works, and how much he cares. He thinks he’s a perfect captain.
The 26-year-old was in Toronto when he got word from general manager Kevyn Adams that he had been traded to Colorado.
"I was shocked. I maybe knew something was coming, but when that moment comes, you’re definitely caught off guard a little bit," Mittelstadt admitted. "But I think at the same time, I was sad to leave, but excited as well.
"I’m not on social media too much, so I missed a lot of the rumors and reports as well. I’m thankful for that, and I remember thinking that if this is my last few games here, I want to enjoy it."
With Dahlin, Thompson, Dylan Cozens, Owen Power, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Mattias Samuelsson all signed to long-term contracts to be the team’s core, Mittelstadt knew he wasn’t going to be included in that.
"I just hit that point where I was a little older, and I really grew up in Buffalo. I think I saw the writing on the wall a little bit too with the contract situation, and that’s the business. There’s no hard feelings," Mittelstadt said. "But looking back, I’ll cherish the friendships, especially the guys, because I’ll be friends with them for life."
As for the other piece in the Mittelstadt trade back on March 6, Bo Byram will face his former teammates for the first time on Tuesday night.
Byram has really started playing very well for Buffalo, and you can tell head coach Lindy Ruff has noticed with his ice-time. Recently, Byram has had games where he played 32:34, 27:35 and 26:18. He’s also sixth in the NHL amongst defensemen with 14 even strength points.
The Sabres' current losing streak has seen Buffalo fall three points behind the Boston Bruins for third place in the Atlantic Division with two games still in-hand.
Buffalo is also three points back of both the New York Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers for the two Eastern Conference Wild Card spots. Buffalo has one game in-hand on the Flyers.
In the last seven games, goal scoring has been a problem with just 13 goals. That’s less than two per-game.
On the flip side, the Avalanche are third-worst in the NHL, allowing 3.72 goals per-game. Acquiring Alexandar Georgiev from the Rangers hasn’t worked out the way they thought it would.
Colorado has given up eight goals twice this season to the Vegas Golden Knights and Tampa Bay Lightning. They have also allowed six goals-against twice and five goals-against on six different occasions.
If Buffalo wants to score, they need to get Tage Thompson, JJ Peterka and Jack Quinn going. In his three games back from injury, Thompson doesn’t have a point, despite having 16 shots on goal. Peterka hasn’t scored in eight games, while Quinn has not scored on a goaltender all season.
Buffalo is 7-4-1 in its last 12 games against the Avalanche. The Sabres are also killing penalties pretty well lately, going 20-of-22.
This isn’t the same Avalanche team you’re used to seeing. They currently aren’t even in a Western Conference playoff spot, trailing the two Wild Card teams - Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames - by two points.
The Avalanche only have two more points than the Sabres, and have lost 3-of-4 games. They’re 12th in league scoring, averaging 3.20 goals per-game, and their power play is sixth at 27.2%. The penalty kill is 29th in the NHL.
Nate MacKinnon is third in league scoring with seven goals and 29 assists for 36 points. He leads the league in assists.
Mikko Rantanen is six in the NHL with 15 goals and 19 assists for 34 points.
Cale Makar is 12th with eight goals and 24 assists for 32 points.
Georgiev has played six-straight games for the Avalanche, and 10 of the last 12 games. He’s 7-7-0 this season with a 3.31 goals-against average and an .875 save percentage.
Colorado is 9-2-0 in its last 11 games with the Sabres.
Tune in during "Schopp and the Bulldog" for pregame coverage on WGR starting at 6 p.m. EST when you’ll hear from Ruff, Tuch and Mittelstadt.