Raleigh, N.C. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - Buffalo Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff said Thursday morning that Jason Zucker’s injury from blocking a shot on Saturday isn’t improving the way they had hoped, which makes him questionable to play against the Carolina Hurricanes.
Sam Lafferty didn't stay on the ice with the other two scratches, Connor Clifton and Jacob Bryson.
Buffalo comes in playing 7-3-0 hockey recently with six wins in seven games. The only bad game in that stretch was in Nashville against the Predators before the break for the 4 Nations Face-Off.
Since coming back from the break, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen has won two games and stopped 42-of-46 shots faced, which is a .913 save percentage.
Luukkonen is 5-1-0 in his last six games, 6-2-0 in his last eight and 9-4-0 in his last 13. The wins and losses are good, but not the numbers, as over the last 13 games, he has a 2.78 goals-against average and an .898 save percentage.
Since Buffalo's 13-game winless streak ended on Dec. 23, Luukkonen is 12-5-1 with a 2.79 goals-against average and an .899 save percentage.
Overall this season, Luukkonen is 20-16-4 with a 2.97 goals-against average and an .895 save percentage.
Ruff says with the condensed schedule coming up between now and March 4 when they play the San Jose Sharks, both goalies will play in the four games.
Away from Buffalo, the Sabres are 9-16-2, which is a .370 points percentage. That puts them 30th in the league. Since Nov. 30, Buffalo’s road record has been 4-11-1.
On the other side of the coin, Buffalo beat Carolina on Jan. 15 at home, 4-2. Ryan McLeod scored his first NHL hat-trick in that game.
Even though Buffalo won that game, Carolina is 16-3-1 in their last 20 games against the Sabres. This includes 10-straight wins on home ice in Raleigh.
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The Hurricanes are in the middle of an uncharacteristic slide under head coach Rod Brind’Amour, losing 5-of-6 games.
Despite the mini slump, the Canes are second in the Metropolitan Division, tied with the New Jersey Devils at 70 points, but 14 points back of the Washington Capitals.
Carolina is 11th in the NHL with a points percentage of .603. They’re ninth in goal scoring, averaging 3.22 goals per-game, eighth in goals-against at 2.79, and second on the penalty kill at 84.3%.
Mikko Rantanen has played eight games for the Hurricanes since coming over from the Colorado Avalanche and it hasn’t gone well. He has one goal and two assists.
Overall this season, Rantanen has 26 goals and 41 assists for 67 points in 57 games, which leads Carolina in scoring.
Pyotr Kochetkov gets the start in goal for the Hurricanes on Thursday. He’s 20-11-3 this season with a 2.55 goals-against average and a .903 save percentage. He’s given up 10 goals in his last three starts.
Tune in during “Schopp and the Bulldog” at 6 p.m. for pregame coverage on WGR when you’ll hear from Ruff, McLeod and Owen Power.