(WGR 550) – In two games last season against the Kraken, the Buffalo Sabres came out on the losing end in Seattle's inaugural season in the NHL.
However, the Sabres get another chance on Tuesday in Seattle.
Buffalo is trying to close out its road trip going 4-0-0 after recording wins over the Edmonton Oilers, Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks.
It’s crazy that Buffalo is 4-1-0, but that is only good for third place in the Atlantic Division.
The Boston Bruins are 5-1-0, followed by the Florida Panthers at 4-1-1. The Detroit Red Wings at 3-0-2, and are tied with Buffalo in points. So are the 4-2-0 Ottawa Senators and 4-3-0 Toronto Maple Leafs. The Tampa Bay Lightning and Montreal Canadiens are both two points back.
Buffalo is still second in NHL goal scoring with 4.40 goals-for per-game. Defensively, its 2.20 goals-against average is third in the NHL.
Craig Anderson leads the NHL with a 1.00 goals-against average in his two starts. His .970 save percentage is also No. 1 in the league. Anderson and Eric Comrie lead the NHL in save percentage at .943.
Alex Tuch is third in the NHL with six goals, while Lightning captain Steven Stamkos and Carolina Hurricanes forward Andrei Svechnikov have seven. Tuch has goals in four-straight games.
Rasmus Dahlin is fifth in goals along with Oilers captain Connor McDavid with five. Dahlin’s eight points has him No. 1 in defensemen scoring and No. 16 in overall league scoring. Dahlin has at least a goal in all five games this year.
The Sabres brought their shots-against under control in Vancouver, allowing just 30 shots to the Canucks. Buffalo has a power play goal in three-straight games.
Casey Mittelstadt has been getting more comfortable with five points in his last three games.
Tage Thompson is starting to produce much more in the offensive zone and has three points in three games.
With defensemen Mattias Samuelsson and Henri Jokiharju on Injured Reserve, Lawrence Pilut will likely get his first game back with the Sabres after playing in the KHL for two years.
While the defense is banged up, the Sabres are healthy up front.
Peyton Krebs and Riley Sheahan were the healthy scratches in Vancouver. Sheahan played 69 games with the Kraken last year, scoring four goals and 13 assists for 17 points. Sheahan also played four games in the AHL with the Charlotte Checkers, picking up two points.
Seattle is 2-3-2, but they only have one win in five games.
Goaltender Philipp Grubauer has a lower-body injury and is day-to-day. Martin Jones is 2-2-1 this season with a 3.91 goals-against average and an .860 save percentage.
The Kraken have three players off to a hot start. Jaden Schwartz, Jared McCann and Andre Burakovsky all have six points in seven games.
Former Sabres defenseman Will Borgen has found his spot on the Kraken defense, and has a goal and an assist in seven games.
Join Brian Koziol and myself for pregame coverage starting at 9 p.m. ET on WGR Sports Radio 550.
