Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR 550) – The Buffalo Sabres play Game 2 of their three-game set against the Boston Bruins on Thursday.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen will not make his NHL debut in this game, but he will in Friday’s game against the Bruins.
“I think it’s better for 'UPL' [Luukkonen] to see one more night, and it was going to be a split anyway," said Sabres interim head coach Don Granato on Thursday. "He’ll get another night from the bench, and that’s good.”
Dustin Tokarski will get his sixth-straight start in goal. This season, he’s 2-6-2 with a 3.05 goals-against average and a .918 save percentage.
The Sabres got even younger on defense, because Will Borgen will return after missing 32 games with a broken bone in his forearm. Colin Miller will be the defenseman that sits, which means the 24-year-old Borgen will be the second-oldest defenseman the Sabres will dress for this game.
“If we had an older team and we were where we are at in the standings, we would be doomed," Granato said. "The fact that we have a younger team means there’s such a capacity for growth.”
After scoring a power play goal in two-straight games, the Sabres went 0-for-6 on Tuesday and didn’t even get near the net when for they had a 6-on-3 advantage for 1:33.
“It’s very, very simple - the best power plays think shoot," Granato said. "Even the way they posture the puck on their stick shows a shot threat, and we’ve gotten away from that and gone to a more pass mentality. When you do that, the penalty kill is ready to cover any pass option.”
The Sabres are 3-2-1 in their last six games, but are 0-3-1 against Boston. Buffalo only has five goals in the four games against them.
Jeremy Swayman gets the call for the Bruins in goal. The rookie is 4-1-0 with a 1.78 goals-against average and a .938 save percentage this season. The 22-year-old played just nine games in the American Hockey League before coming to the NHL. Last year, he was a junior at the University of Maine.
Brad Marchand is fourth in league scoring with 55 points in 42 games. His 24 goals are also fourth.
Marchand has five goals in his last four games, and has only gone two games without a point all season.
Boston is a perfect 5-0-0 since the trade deadline, and is three points out of third place in the East Division and four points out of first. The Bruins have two games in-hand on all three teams, and still have four games left against the Sabres and two against the New Jersey Devils.
Join Schopp and the Bulldog at 6 p.m. ET for pregame coverage on WGR, where you'll hear from Granato, Tokarski and Victor Olofsson.
