(WGR Sports Radio 550) - The Buffalo Sabres play the Oilers on Saturday in Edmonton, and will catch a break as Connor McDavid is serving the last game of a three-game suspension. The Oilers captain was suspended for cross-checking Vancouver Canucks forward Conor Garland in the face.
The Oilers are 1-1-0 without McDavid, as they lost to the Washington Capitals on Tuesday, 3-2, and then beat the Canucks on Thursday, 6-2.
Buffalo is 1-2-0 on this four-game Western Conference road trip, with the last game being a 5-2 to loss to the Calgary Flames on Thursday. This was a one-goal game until the Flames scored two empty net goals.
The Sabres lost Thursday night because they were 0-for-6 on the power play, and gave up two shorthanded goals. They also had 77 shot attempts and missed the net 21 times.
It was also not a good game for goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen.
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After practice on Friday, Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff indicated, but didn’t confirm, that James Reimer would be in goal. Against the Flames, Buffalo needed one big save and one easy save that they didn’t get.
Lately, Luukkonen has gone six games where he plays very well for one, and then doesn’t for one. I have to wonder if Ruff is sending his goaltender a message if he starts Reimer.
Reimer has started once in the last 14 games, and he played well, allowing three goals on 33 shots in Vegas against the Golden Knights.
This season, Reimer is 1-5-1 with a 3.05 goals-against average and an .891 save percentage. Between Reimer and Devon Levi, they’re 3-12-1 when Luukkonen doesn’t play.
Tage Thompson has points in five-consecutive games, scoring three goals and three assists for six points. He has six goals and nine assists for 15 points in his last 14 games.
Thompson is on a 42-goal and 76-point pace over 82 games.
Jason Zucker has missed two games, and Ruff says he was very ill. Zucker did practice on Friday, but Ruff mentioned he’s still trying to get his strength up, which makes him questionable for Saturday.
Ryan McLeod practiced on Friday, and is eligible to come off of Injured Reserve. Ruff sounded almost certain McLeod will play against his former team on Saturday. He missed three games after a violent collision in practice.
McLeod spent three full seasons with the Oilers, playing in 219 games. Last year, he had 12 goals and 18 assists for 30 points in 81 games.
This season with Buffalo, McLeod has 10 goals and 14 assists for 24 points in 45 games.
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Edmonton has won 5-of-7 games, which has them second in the Pacific Division, one point behind Vegas. Their .656 point percentage is third in the NHL, and ahead of the Golden Knights.
Leon Draisaitl, who the Sabres passed over in the 2014 NHL Draft, is second in the league with 74 points in 48 games. He leads the league with 35 goals.
To be fair, the player the Sabres did draft that year, Sam Reinhart, is second behind Draisaitl with 28 goals.
Edmonton is sixth in the NHL in both goals-for and goals-against this season. Their power play is seventh overall.
Zach Hyman slumped all through October and November, but he had 14 goals in December.
Stuart Skinner got the last game off, so he’s likely to start against the Sabres on Saturday. He’s 18-11-3 this season with a 2.71 goals-against average and an .899 save percentage.
It’s not a shock to hear that Jeff Skinner has been a healthy scratch for five games this season. In 43 games, he has seven goals and eight assists for 15 points, and is minus-9. He's only one of four Oilers in the minuses this year.
Join Brian Koziol and myself for pregame coverage on WGR starting at 3 p.m.