Sunrise, Fla. (WGR 550) – The Buffalo Sabres haven’t had any luck with the Florida Panthers this season, losing in Buffalo on Feb. 15, 4-0, and in Sunrise, 3-2, on Feb. 27.
It’s been a pretty long time since Buffalo has had any success against the Panthers, going 1-9-0 in their last 10 games, and 2-7-1 in South Florida.
This will be Kyle Okposo’s first game against his old teammates since being traded to the Panthers at the NHL Trade Deadline. Okposo doesn’t have any points in the five games he’s played with Florida.
Buffalo has won three of its last five games, but have gone very cold on the road, losing 7-of-9.
Bo Byram missed Thursday’s game due to a personal issue, but he’s expected to be back in on Saturday against Florida.
Alex Tuch remains hot, picking up 19 points in his last 15 games, and eight points in his last five.
Tage Thompson has 11 goals and 10 assists for 21 points in his last 16 games. That is a pace of 43 goals and 39 assists for 82 points, which is close to what he had last year when he netted 47 goals and 47 assists for 94 points.
Zach Benson is on a nice little streak, scoring a goal and five assists for six points in his last five games.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen hasn’t given up more than three goals in six games. He’s played in 34 of the Sabres' last 39 games. Overall this season, he’s 27-22-3 with a 2.56 goals-against average and a .910 save percentage.
Luukkonen has gotten Buffalo up to 12th overall with a team goals-against average of 2.98.
Florida has something to play for on Saturday, as they enter the contest just one point behind the Boston Bruins for first place in the Atlantic Division. The Panthers can no longer catch the New York Rangers, though, for the Presidents' Trophy.
The Panthers are sixth in the NHL with a points percentage at .663.
Florida has gotten points in four-straight games, going 3-0-1, but they slipped before that, losing 8-of-10.
Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov has 33 points in 29 games played against the Sabres.
Florida’s goaltending with Sergei Bobrovsky and Anthony Stolarz leads the NHL with a goals-against average of 2.43. Thanks to these two, the Panthers have two-straight shutouts, and three shutouts in four games. In their last four games, they’ve given up just three goals.
Bobrovsky is expected to play in his 700th NHL game on Saturday. This season, he’s 35-17-4 with a 2.38 goals-against average and a .914 save percentage.
Sam Reinhart hit the 50-goal mark for the first time in his career, and leads the Panthers in scoring with 54 goals and 37 assists for 91 points.
Join Brian Koziol and myself at 4 p.m. ET for pregame coverage on WGR, as we’ll feature a Season in Review special. We'll also get a chance to hear from Don Granato.
