(WGR Sports Radio 550) - When the Los Angeles Kings came to Buffalo back on Oct. 10, they "goalied" the Sabres with an average goaltender. Darcy Kuemper stood on his head, stopping 32 pucks in a 3-1 win in Buffalo's home opener.
The Sabres won’t see Kuemper in Los Angeles on Wednesday, as he left his Nov. 13 start with an undisclosed injury and is currently on Injured Reserve.
That likely puts David Rittich in net this time around. He’s 6-4-0 this season with a 2.52 goals-against average and an .892 save percentage.
Backing him up is Sabres' 2019 third-round pick Erik Portillo
Portillo lost the battle of the young goalies to Devon Levi, and was traded to the Kings on March 1, 2023 for a third-round pick. The Sabres used that pick to draft Clarence Center native Gavin McCarthy.
Portillo has never played an NHL game, but he has 44 games with the Ontario Reign. In five games this season, he's 3-2-0 with a 3.02 goals-against average and an .891 save percentage.
Last season, Portillo was 24-11-3 with a 2.50 goals-against average and a .918 save percentage.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 20 saves on 22 shots faced in the home opener against the Kings.
He returns to the net on Wednesday after missing two games and one period due to an injury. Luukkonen is 6-4-1 this season with a 2.83 goals-against average and a .903 save percentage.
Before the injury, Luukkonen had played 9-of-10 games.
According to Jourdan LaBarber of Sabres.com, Tage Thompson and Alex Tuch practiced on Tuesday in El Segundo. Thompson has missed two games with a lower-body injury, and Tuch missed practice in Buffalo on Monday.
Thompson will not play Wednesday night.
Here are the lines according to Sabres.com:
Forwards:
Peterka - McLeod - Tuch
Benson - Cozens - Lafferty
Zucker - Kulich - Quinn
Malenstyn - Krebs - Aube-Kubel
Defense:
Dahlin - Byram
Power - Jokiharju
Bryson - Clifton
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If you’re the glass is half-full person, the Sabres have won 4-of-6 games. If you’re the glass is half-empty person, Buffalo has lost 2-out-of-3 games.
Despite being 22nd in the NHL with a .472 points percentage, the Sabres are only two points behind the New York Islanders for the Eastern Conference’s final Wild Card playoff spot.
The power play has been red-hot for Buffalo, scoring in six-straight games and going 7-of-21 (33.3%). They’ve scored with the extra man in 9-of-10 games, going 10-of-34 (29.4%), which is fourth in the NHL during that time period.
Rasmus Dahlin has a six-game point streak, scoring four goals and adding five assists for nine points. His offense has improved lately, and his 16 points is sixth amongst defensemen in the NHL.
The Sabres have climbed to 11th in league scoring, averaging 3.33 goals per-game.
Jack Quinn continues to struggle mightily, and it might be time to insert Jiri Kulich above him on the depth chart.
Quinn has one goal this year, and it was an empty netter. He has no goals and three assists in nine games, and it’s getting to the point where head coach Lindy Ruff can no longer afford to let him try to play out of it.
Isak Rosen is on the trip too, and getting a look at him might be an idea.
Ruff says this Kings team is playing a different brand of hockey than when they were in Buffalo. He believes it won’t be as wide-open this time around.
"We got 'goalied' in that game, for sure, but that team is playing a lot better right now," Ruff said. "It was a game where we felt with the number of opportunities we had and with what the numbers said, we probably should’ve scored six or seven in that game, and we scored one.
"Watching them play now, they’re giving up a lot less. They’re playing a tighter style, and it’ll be a harder game for us, for sure."
The Kings' goals-against average this season is 2.84, which is 11th in the league.
Los Angeles has lost 3-of-5 games, but are 12th in the NHL with a points percentage of .605. The Kinds are second in the Pacific Division, just one point back of the Vegas Golden Knights. In one more game, the Kings have six more points than the Sabres.
Trevor Moore has an eight-game point streak, picking up 10 points along the way.
Anze Kopitar scored all three goals for the Kings in Buffalo, and leads the Kings in scoring with 21 points in 19 games.
Adrian Kempe and Alex Laferriere each have nine goals, while Kempe has four goals in his last two games.
Join Brian Koziol and myself for pregame coverage on WGR starting at 9:30 p.m. EST when you’ll hear from Ruff, Luukkonen and Thompson.