Pittsburgh, Pa. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - The Buffalo Sabres are 1-5-2 on the road this season, but that win came in their last outing in Detroit, as they erased a 4-1 deficit to beat the Red Wings in overtime.
Over the last five games, Buffalo is 4-1-0.
Even though they picked up 8-of-10 points, Buffalo only passed one team in the Eastern Conference standings. They are tied with a points percentage of .500 with the New York Rangers, meaning the Sabres still have seven teams to leap over to get to the eighth and final playoff spot, which is five points away and occupied by the Boston Bruins.
It just goes to show you what a monumental hole the Sabres have put themselves in.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen will get his third-straight start in goal for the Sabres on Wednesday night. In his last five games, he’s 3-2-0 with a 2.42 goals-against average and a .910 save percentage.
Tage Thompson has goals in six-consecutive games and seven out of eight contests. In those eight games, he has seven goals and four assists for 11 points.
Only Jason Robertson of the Dallas Stars has more goals during that time period with 11.
Josh Norris won’t return to the Sabres lineup on Wednesday, but he hasn’t been ruled out for the weekend's action. He centered a line with Zach Benson and Noah Ostlund in Tuesday's practice in Buffalo.
The team envisioned Norris playing with Thompson, but Thompson centering Alex Tuch and Josh Doan has gone very well.
"Bringing a player back into your lineup that’s going to make you a better team is an awesome problem to have. It just might bring us another line that can be just as effective at and help us win," said Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff when asked if he would break up that combination.
"Say that the Thompson line is getting the tougher matchup and you have another line with a Norris and Benson, it’ll make us more dangerous."
Buffalo is 2-6-2 in their last 10 games in Pittsburgh. Overall, they’re 5-3-2 in their last 10 contests against the Pens.
Pittsburgh’s .595 points percentage is tied for fourth in the Metropolitan Division, but would be good for second in the Atlantic Division, trailing only the Tampa Bay Lightning at .636.
The Pens have lost five out of six games, going 1-2-3. Three of those losses and the only win have come at home.
Pittsburgh has a home record of 5-3-2 this season.
Tristan Jarry is back in goal for Pittsburgh after missing seven games with a lower-body injury. Jarry is 5-2-0 this season with a 2.60 goals-against average and a .911 save percentage.
After a couple of down seasons, it seems like Evgeni Malkin has rediscovered the fountain of youth. He’s the Penguins' leading scorer with six goals and 18 assists for 24 points in 21 games.
Meanwhile, captain Sidney Crosby has 13 goals and 10 assists for 23 points in the same amount of games.
In 62 career games against Buffalo, Crosby has 30 goals and 56 assists for 86 points.
Tune in during "Schopp and the Bulldog" for pregame coverage on WGR starting at 6 p.m. when you’ll hear from Ruff, Norris and former Penguins defenseman Conor Timmins.
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