Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - The Buffalo Sabres will try to build on their five-game home winning streak on Tuesday night, as they get set to host the Anaheim Ducks.
Buffalo has outscored their opponents, 26-12, in those five games, and are now 14-11-3 when playing in Western New York. Overall, the Sabres have won 5-of-6 games.
Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff says scoring has been key to the home surge.
"We’ve been able to put the puck in the back of the net. There have been a lot of games where we’ve really played well, even during our tough stretch there that were low scoring where we didn’t take advantage of some really good offensive opportunities," said Ruff following the morning skate Tuesday.
The Sabres have scored two or fewer goals in Buffalo eight times this season.
Both Alex Tuch and Jason Zucker missed practice on Monday, but they did participate in Tuesday’s optional morning skate. Ruff says they got through it OK, but are still game-time decisions.
Ruffs adds the Sabres will dress an extra player for warmups.
In Anaheim, the Sabres had to score three unanswered goals to edge the Ducks, 3-2 in overtime. Jiri Kulich scored the game-winner with just 1:00 left in the extra period.
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"It was a tight game, it was a tough game to generate, because they play in a lot of tight games. I would expect that again tonight," Ruff said. "You’ve got to win battles, you have to be able to win your battles around the net front, shake off your 1-on-1 coverage and beat guys back to the front of the net."
Rasmus Dahlin has 24 assists and 27 points in his last 21 games.
Zucker has 10 goals and 13 assists for 23 points in his last 20 contests.
Tage Thompson has six goals and five assists for 11 points in five games. He has 12 goals and 14 assists for 26 points in his last 20 games.
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It’s surprising that the Ducks are playing so well this season.
They’re last in the league in goals scored, they’re second-last on the power play, 27th on the penalty kill, and 20th in goals-against.
Despite all that, they have a points percentage of .509, and since Dec. 23, a points percentage of .563. Anaheim has also picked up points in 8-out-of-9 games, going 7-1-1.
Frank Vatrano has six goals in 10 games, while Troy Terry is Anaheim’s leading scorer with 16 goals and 25 assists for 41 points in 51 games.
Lukas Dostal has played in 6-out-of-8 games for Anaheim, going 5-0-1. Overall this season, he’s 16-13-5 with a 2.92 goals-against average and a .910 save percentage.
Join Mike Schopp and the Bulldog for pregame coverage on WGR starting at 6 p.m. when you’ll hear from Ruff, Dylan Cozens and Henri Jokiharju.