Raleigh, N.C. (WGR 550) – The Buffalo Sabres have a tough task on their hands Tuesday when they face the Carolina Hurricanes. Buffalo has won two of its last five games against Carolina, but both victories came on home ice.
In Raleigh, the Sabres have lost eight in-a-row, while picking up just one point in that stretch.
Buffalo has won four-of-six games, scoring 26 goals in the process. They beat the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday, and got that shot mentality back with 41 shots on goal.
The Sabres have killed off 14 of their last 15 penalties against them, and now stand fifth in the NHL at an 89.1% kill rate.
After using 11 forwards and seven defensemen on Saturday, Sabres head coach Don Granato is going back to 12-and-6. Jacob Bryson and Matt Savoie will be the healthy scratches on Tuesday.
The Sabres have gotten some quality production from its top players in recent games.
- Casey Mittelstadt has two goals and three assists for five points in four games.
- Jeff Skinner has five goals and five assists for 10 points in eight games.
- Tage Thompson has five goals and four assists for nine points in six games .
- Alex Tuch has three goals and five assists for eight points in six games.
Overall, Mittelstadt and Skinner are the Sabres' leading scorers with 11 points in 12 games.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen will be back in net for the Sabres against the Hurricanes. He’s 3-2-0 this season with a 3.14 goals-against average and a .901 save percentage.
Hurricanes goalie Freddie Andersen has blood clots and needs to take some time away from the team. That puts Antti Raanta in goal for Carolina on Tuesday. He’s 3-1-0 this season with a 3.03 goals-against average and an .870 save percentage.
It seems like Sebastian Aho spends all night on breakaways and on 3-on-1 breaks in games against Buffalo. In 16 games played against the Sabres, he has 13 goals and 11 assists for 24 points.
Teuvo Teravainen has 20 points in 19 games against the Sabres.
Carolina was on a bad streak that saw them lose four out of five games, but since then, they won four out of five.
Join Schopp and the Bulldog for pregame coverage on WGR starting at 6 p.m. EST when you’ll hear from Granato, Savoie and Jordan Greenway.
